A Certain Spark
by Meistar
Summary: "I don't know what it is about you," Percy said. "Maybe it's everything. But something, something that you do..." his voice trailed off into the silence. But the undeniable electricity in the air drove him to continue. "It makes it hard to stay away." Annabeth has a goal to rise above her caste. She fills out an application to the Selection, in which 35 women try to win one heart.
1. Intros and Inducings

**We're starting a new story! This is a crossover between Percy Jackson and The Selection by Kiera Cass. But you technically don't need to read the Selection to read this. However, it will make more sense if you do so. Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson (Rick Riordan) or The Selection (Kiera Cass). Thank you!**

"Annabeth? Are you awake?" yelled Helen from the downstairs. "Get down here! We have a letter, and it's addressed to the entire family!"

I knew that it couldn't be any ordinary letter, we got them every day. It wouldn't make any sense for my stepmother to call me down for that. And unfortunately, I had my suspicions as to what that letter could say.

I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed. Why today? I knew what had arrived in the mail. As I walked down the tiny, steep stairs of my home, I saw her waving an official-looking letter. Just like that, my suspicions were confirmed. There was a palace seal holding the letter closed, and that proved me correct.

Helen beckoned me over with her other hand, grasping the message firmly in the other. Her manicure nearly matched the color of the palace seal, both deep purples. I eyed the letter. The envelope was tinted blue, with the large plum-colored seal placed directly in the center. The letter looked elegant but was actually bulging at the seams. There must've been a large quantity of paper inside.

She handed me the envelope but interrupted the silence before I could tear away the wax seal. "Well, go on then! Open it!" she demanded. A flash of annoyance crossed my mind, as that was what I was doing. But I followed her instructions and carefully peeled away the wax. But the moment that I opened up the letter, Helen snatched it away. She ripped out the paper inside.

The paper unfolded at her fingertips. When Helen saw it, her eyes went wide. I caught a trace of a smile in her jaw. By now, the entire family had filed into the room and taken seats in chairs around the fireplace. Bobby and Matthew were guiltily eavesdropping, pretending to play with some toy robots. My father was listening in too, but he was reading the paper simultaneously.

Helen began reading aloud so that everybody in the room could hear. "To the House of Chase," she announced. The twins leaned forward, no longer pretending to play. My father lowered his newspaper.

"The recent census has confirmed that a single woman between the ages of sixteen and twenty currently resides in your home," she continued. That was me.

Bobby stage-whispered to me "Annabeth! That's you, cause you're seventeen!" _Wow, thanks, Bobby_ _. I didn't know that_ , I thought to myself.

"We would like to make you aware of an upcoming opportunity to honor the great nation of Illéa," sang out my stepmother. She eyed me to see my reaction. "Our beloved prince, Perseus Jackson, is coming of age this month. As he ventures into this new part of his life, he hopes to move forward with a partner, to marry a true Daughter of Illéa. If your eligible daughter, sister, or charge is interested in possibly becoming the bride of the Prince and adored princess of Illéa, please fill out the enclosed form and return it to your local Province Services Office."

By now, my father was listening completely. He seemed slightly shocked, wary, but slightly understanding. Strange combination. Helen continued. "One woman from each Province will be drawn at random to meet the prince. Participants will be housed at the lovely Illéa palace in Angeles for the duration of their stay. Their families will be generously compensated-" I could literally see the greed in her eyes- "For their services to the royal family."

She continued to drone on, but I lost interest in listening. I collapsed into the plush chair behind me and blocked out her voice. I caught my father staring at me, looking inquisitive. He was gauging my reaction to the letter. I purposefully plastered on an interesting face to make him happier.

As Helen finished, my father cleared his throat and fixed his gaze upon her. "Helen and Annabeth, could I speak with you both for a moment?" Bobby and Matthew groaned when he pointedly stared at them, and they dragged themselves off the floor and into another room.

Frederick stared at us both for an awkward amount of time before speaking. "Annabeth, what do you think about this… recent development?"

Whilst I was glad that he asked for my opinion, but I knew it would be overlooked. Nevertheless, I spoke. "Dad, you know what I think about this. I find it ridiculous that you guys want me to attempt to be the wife of a One. I don't want to compete in a place where the most shallow, selfish girls get chosen. I will be kicked out on the first day."

Helen narrowed her eyes. "Then go. There is nearly no chance that you will be picked anyways. But if you did, imagine the possibilities!" Her volume had increased, and I felt like she would be shouting at me soon.

I was hoping my dad wouldn't pick sides, but he did. And of course, he supported Helen. "Annabeth… well, you know that we are not doing well financially. Not to mention your talents lie outside of this caste. Even if you left the first day, we would still get a lot of money."

His words struck a chord inside me, and I felt moved to his argument. My father was incredibly persuasive when he wanted to be. Still, I put up a fight. "Dad, I don't want to enter for money. I would only enter for the prince because the crown doesn't interest me. But I have no love for Prince Perseus either. He is probably dull and unintelligent."

Helen's voice got sugary, but I could see through her facade. "But honey, what if he wasn't? I would _never_ ask you to marry somebody that was beneath you, but what if he isn't? Wouldn't that be worth it?"

"No," I repeated. "Even if he were a good man, I could never be a queen. You both know it."

My dad closed his eyes for a moment, then gradually opened them. His eyes were sympathetic, but a little bit hard. "Bethie… you would make a wonderful queen. Your thoughts and interests and ideas are perfect for a monarch that I feel this country needs. If you don't want the crown, you can make the choice to leave it, to not take it. But what harm does it do to try?" he whispered.

A stray tear wandered down my cheek, but I rubbed it into my rough sleeve before it reached my chin. "I suppose… but what if I got in?"  
Frederick responded gently, "Then it would be okay. It's just like sampling a new food. It could be worth it." That was all it took for us to slowly cave into a hug. I hugged my father, then Helen joined in. Funnily, I wasn't as bothered by her presence as before. We stayed that way for a while and then broke off to go to sleep.

When I climbed back into bed, I glanced out the tiny window. It had been boarded up a while ago on the outside. I leaned into the glass and took a deep breath. When I breathed out, it caused a large smudge mark in the glass. I peeked out through a tiny hole between the boards on the outer side of the window and looked over my yard.

Who knew? Maybe this was one of my last days to look through my window. Maybe this was one of my last days here.

I fell asleep to the sound of the ticking hand of a clock. In my dreams, I saw the pile of paperwork on the table that I would do tomorrow. Those papers would determine my future, but only if I allowed them to do so. My decision was obvious, but I still found myself with doubts.

 **Hello peoples! Sorry that I have been inactive for so long, but I'm back again with a new story. Constructive criticism is welcome, but no flaming. Please take the time to review, I really appreciate it. See you next time!**

 **-Meistar**


	2. Priorities and Pictures

**Thank you for the reviews, reviewers! (Wow, that was a terrible sentence). Sorry for forgetting the disclaimer. I do not own The Selection by Kiera Cass or Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan, no matter how much I wish that I did. BTW, I will begin to respond to reviews when there are three or more.**

The next morning, I got up out of bed and yawned. I threw my arms over my head to stretch, and then extended my legs over the side of the poorly-made bed frame. My father used to always tell me that the first step to getting up in the morning was to get your legs out of bed, then all of the other limbs would follow them. I used to have such trouble getting up quickly in the mornings.

Today though, I felt energetic. I pushed my feet into too-small slippers, and then stepped down the stairs. My family was waiting for me there. Bobby and Matthew were both munching on sugarless cereal, and my father and Helen were eating eggs.

I walked into the kitchen to get some water, and I could feel their eyes drilling into my back. They hadn't forgotten what had gone down yesterday night. I saw the stack of papers waiting for me at my seat, obviously placed there to remind me that they existed.

Once I sat down, the silence was once again broken by a sugary feminine voice. "Dear, when are you going to fill out those forms?" Helen looked down at me innocently, and I internally rolled my eyes. She wasn't very subtle in her intentions for me.

"I suppose I can do them now, because I don't exactly have another time to do it. Can you pass me a pen?" I responded. She nodded with approval, and swiftly tossed me a pen. I caught it out of the air with grace, and uncapped it.

Everybody conveniently finished their breakfast at that moment, and Helen stacked everybody's plates. My father took the stack and set it in the sink of the kitchen. Bobby and Matthew went to their rooms and Helen sat next to me.

For a while she stared as I filled in the first few lines. I counted the seconds. Her record was about fifteen, before she interjected some words into the silence. "Do you need help with that?"

I was pleased that she offered, and I smiled softly. "Sure, thanks." We both looked over the form, which was printed onto high quality paper. The texture was smooth and each page was thick.

 _Name:_ _Age: Caste:_ _Province:_

 _Contact Information:_

 _Weight:_ _Height:_ _Hair: Eyes:_ _Skin:_

 _Languages Spoken: Highest Grade Level Completed:_

 _Special Skills: __

 _Family Information and Known Relatives:_ ___

 _Profession: __

 _Other things to note: __

It went on from there, but what really bothered us were the long paragraphs of permission forms that took up more than half of the packet. Luckily, the application was only about five pages long. I had thought it was longer when I had seen the large envelope yesterday, but it turned out that I only came to that conclusion because of the thick paper.

Once Helen and I finished with the forms, I ate some cheap cereal and discount milk. I made sure to use a lot of milk because its expiration date was only a few days away. Helen went upstairs to get dressed, and I soon did the same thing.

My closet was tiny, as was my amount of clothing. I settled on a grey knitted sweatshirt and black flats, because I had no wish to stand out in any way. I instantly regretted my decision when I felt how itchy the sweater was. Nevertheless, I kept it on (mainly because nearly everything else I had was dirty and I was much too lazy at the moment to watch anything).

I emerged from my room clutching a book to my chest, and I perched on a chair outside of Helen and my father's room. I heard their conversation, because our family couldn't afford to soundproof the walls. It would cost too much money.

" _I can't believe she filled out the form."_ That was my father's voice.

" _Neither can I, but I am very happy that she did."_ That was Helen's sugar voice. I gritted my teeth, already regretting my decision to fill in the application.

" _So am I, my dear. I just worry about her. If she is chosen, it will change her life forever."_ My father's voice was very grave.

My stepmother responded with a simple question and a remark. " _I'm almost ready to go."_ There was a brief pause, then she continued. " _Do you think that it will change her life in a good or bad way?"_

I heard her stand up, and I quickly realized that she was about to walk out of her room. I stood up, and then crept away on my tiptoes to be quiet. I never heard my father's reply.

Helen walked out of her room and found me at the dining table reading my book. She squinted at the title, her face scrunched. Then with a wondrous expression on her face, she asked "Annabeth, you do realize the book you are reading is upside down, right?"

My face turned bright red, and I turned the book to the proper side. "Sorry, I guess I'm out of it today," I lied. She seemed to accept my excuse and grabbed her purse. I noticed dark lines under her eyes, but I didn't comment on them.

We left my house, and hailed for a car to drive us. We didn't own any vehicle, but we all had bikes. Unfortunately, it was much too cold to use them. This summer hadn't given us any sun. The driver that gave us a ride was obviously a Six- I could tell by his clothing. We gave him a few dollars in compensation.

Helen lead me over to our destination. A large sign marked the entrance. It read: **PROVINCE OF ANGELES SERVICES OFFICE**. Outside of the office was a huge crowd of loud women. The line stretched around the block. Every girl in the province was signing up. I didn't know what to feel about that.

As the line slowly advanced, many officers created permutations by grouping people by caste. The most stylish people seemed to clump in the front of the line. Lower castes consisting of quieter people in drab clothing seemed to be situated in the back. I clamped my teeth together angrily. Everywhere I went, I was reminded of my caste. The lower people would have to wait longer.

Helen and I joined the hordes of people. I got shoved at least six times. Helen and I waited in line silently, because she had a code of manners and believed that we shouldn't bother anybody. It must have taken hours. Within a few minutes, I opened my book and held it up. I read nearly the entire time. It was a guide on architecture.

We were at the front of the line after two hours and a few minutes- I checked on Helen's watch. A man behind a window had me sign to confirm everything written on my form was true. He grabbed a ginormous red stamp and used it, creating a red seal on my forms. Then he made some remark about a picture. I nearly panicked, and my stepmother almost did too.

Luckily, Helen had a colorful blue scarf in her bag to accessorize. I wrapped it around my neck, but she got fussy and insisted on tying it into some sort of elaborate knot. I put up with her finicking for an impressive amount of time. She brushed out my hair with a comb provided by another Five in our line, who was obviously having the same problem.

She even tried to convince me to put in her earrings, but I drew the line there. At that moment, a formally dressed woman grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to the picture station. Her name-tag read: MELLIE. Mellie mumbled about how many people were showing up under her breath, and she grabbed for my application. After checking for the stamp, she passed the forms off to another person waiting.

As quickly as that, another services officer led me to a simple barstool. Apparently, only my top half was going to be in the picture. There were at least a dozen cameras and photographers, looking at me from all angles. A white backdrop was erected behind me. Some people carried large rods of light that they extended over the set.

Mellie showed up again and insistently tried to fix my posture, or hair, or smile. Finally she approved, and told me to smile and keep my eyes open. They took about eight photos, and they moved the light rods around each time. After about 20 minutes, I was told to leave and ushered away from the set as another girl took my place.

Helen was waiting for me by the door. The exit was significantly less crowded than the entryway, so we found each other quickly. We walked home in silence. What was there to say?

Of course, she found something. "Annabeth, were you happy with your picture?" she asked.

"I guess," I responded.

She seemed unsatisfied with my failure of a response, and tried to open up a conversation. "I can't wait for the report tonight. I've heard Apollo Solace and Artemis Nightshade will be interviewing the Royal Family tonight!"

I shrugged, and she seemed to take that as a signal to keep talking. I didn't listen to her words, because I was lost in thought. My internal musings were filled with what-ifs. While Helen babbled, I stared at the ground, stuck in my reveries.

 **Well, how did I do? Feel free to review, constructive criticism is useful to me. Suggestions are cool too, I didn't prewrite this. Thanks, peoples!**

 **-Meistar**


	3. Television and Talks

**Hello peoples. I'm back with another chapter. Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the Selection. If I did, that would be awesome. Unfortunately, I am not that lucky. And some responses to reviews:**

 **Athenachild101- Thank you for reviewing! Yes, I love the two series too. Don't worry, this will be VERY different fro the original series. You will see why next chapter. While I am getting inspiration to the Selection process from the books, I am writing it all myself and inserting new ideas. Also, here is your update.**

 **7- Here it is!**

 **JamesAndLily1001- Your username makes me cry. I love these books too (hence the story). Here is your update.**

 **Jason (Guest)- Thank you, means a lot. Also, note to anybody: if you have any suggestions for a better title or summary, feel free to mention it. I will stop rambling now, on with the story!**

Everyone knew of the distinguished twins, Artemis Nightshade and Apollo Solace. They were famous across Illea for their news show, "The Report." It was one of the only free channels. The lower castes all had an obligation to watch it and catch themselves up on current events.

Of course, higher castes would be ridiculed if they hadn't watched the news. In this country, news and gossip were favorited topics to discuss. Anywhere you went, "The Report" followed you like the plague.

It was 8:00, and our house was dark. Father was incredibly conservative when it came to house bills. He always ranted on and on about how we couldn't leave water running while we used soap, and that we couldn't leave the lights on for even a spare minute.

In the past, we had needed to choose between electricity and food. We always choose food, of course. But then all that came with it made things worse. Most of the cheaper foods that we often bought were microwaveable meals and boxes of pasta cooked on the stove. Our milk was always days off from the expiration date, and the water was dirty.

Either way, the lights were off now. My entire family was crowded around our old television. I sat in the plush chair, Helen and Frederick laid on the couch. Bobby and Matthew spread themselves out on the floor and propped up their heads with their hands.

The worn-out television drifted to life, and the microscopic speaker beside it began softly producing our National Anthem. I knew how to dance to it, and the twins began to sway their heads from side to side until I gave them an odd expression.

The television displayed the king standing at a podium. Everyone knew him, it was King Poseidon Jackson. Beside him was Sally Jackson, waiting silently. I imagined what it would be like to be in her shoes. Nope, I couldn't do it.

As King Poseidon began to inform everybody about a recent rebel invasion, I tuned out his voice to watch Bobby and Matthew playing what looked like charades with only two players. Only Helen and father ever listened to the news. I did occasionally, but not this time. I was looking forward to seeing Prince Perseus.

The Master of Events came to the platform. His name was Hermes, an advisor that everybody knew and respected. He had improved jail conditions and the mailing system over his lifespan. Now he was known as the Master of Events, because he announced the arrival of reporters and often caught up people with current events.

Hermes stepped forward and yelled out to the cameras: "Good evening, Illéa!" A smattering of applause was added in as a cheesy sound effect. "I am very grateful to announce that more than a thousand applications for the Selection have been submitted already!"

Again with the applause, and the lights dimmed slightly in the background. Hermes continued his monologue. "Thank you, Illéa, for your astounding enthusiasm and patriotism! I do hope we will be celebrating a new engagement of the royal family as soon as possible."

Prince Perseus smiled in the background, but it was hardly noticeable. It looked more like a grimace of pain. I saw the King give him a hard look, and the Prince's back straightened.

Hermes began to conclude his loud speech. "It is common knowledge that there will be extensive programming dedicated to meeting the young ladies of the Selection. And of the most popular news station right now, the twins of the hour: Apollo Solace and Artemis Nightshade!" With that, the young advisor leapt away from the stage and two twins entered.

Artemis and Apollo had nothing similar to each other but the first letter of their names. While Artemis was younger looking and had auburn hair, Apollo was actually younger and had golden locks. Apollo often covered cheerful news, and interviewed the Royal Family. Artemis always talked with government officials and reviewed news over terrorist attacks, the war with New Orthys. The two always argued about who was older, but most people claimed they were twins.

The twins both took seats in rigidly stuffed chairs. Apollo beckoned Perseus to join him, and the prince did so at a refined pace. Once the group was completely situated, the interview began.

"His majesty, Prince Perseus," announced Artemis to the crowd. Everybody cheered, including some obviously fake cheering that was computer-generated. The prince bashfully nodded and looked straight at the camera, as if he had done this a thousand times. Maybe he had, I would never know.

Apollo began the interview by asking Perseus about his views on the news that had been presented, but they rushed past that in order to get to the juicier news. Artemis was the first to bring up the upcoming Selection. "So Perseus, what are your thoughts on the fact that ladies all across the country are dying to meet you?"

Perseus smiled, but I could tell he was rattled. Was it just me? "Artemis, I am very hopeful for the Selection this year, and I cannot wait to meet them as well."

She smiled, but it was obvious she wasn't satisfied with his short answer. As Artemis opened her mouth to speak, Apollo interrupted as quickly as a bullet. "And might I ask what you are looking for in a potential wife? Any traits, qualities that you find attractive, etcetera?"

"Well, I suppose I hope to find somebody unique- no woman is the same, after all. Somebody worthy enough to be the princess of Illéa, and somebody I could love enough to be my wife. But I suppose I will have to end my words there, because I hope to broaden my views during this experience," answered the Prince. The words seemed to fly out of his mouth on the go, and I wondered if he was following a script or simply improvising.

"I see what you mean," said Artemis as she took the stage from her brother. "And do you have anything you wish to say to the ladies now?"

Perseus seemed taken aback, if only for a moment. Then his corroded stage presence returned to him, and he smiled. "Any one of you could be my queen. I am looking forward to the experience of meeting you, and... that is all." As the camera cut away, I saw him looking back at his family with an embarrassed expression.

Apollo began interviewing the queen, who quoted some old poet and his inspirational quotes. I didn't remember what she said though, because Helen was too busy squealing about how great of a princess I would make. Meanwhile, I stared at the wall. I could be his queen. I was worthy to be the princess of Illéa. I could love him enough to be his wife.

I was going to win the Selection.

 **Kay. So now Annabeth has a plan. If anybody wants to see another Point of View, please recommend whom it would be. Otherwise I may just keep Annabeth. Please take some time to review, peoples. See 'ya later!**

 **-Meistar**


	4. Drawings and Dissapointment

**Hello peoples! Some responses to reviews are below. Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the Selection.**

 **Livvi May- Thanks! Yeah, I love these books. It seems like some people have overruled you though, on the POV thing. I will probably PM you, thanks for offering! And here is your chapter.**

 **AthenaChild101: Yay! Another Review! My goal is to stray this as far as it can go. Wish me luck! I suppose we will have to see... MWAHAHAHA.**

 **Sv007: Okie, I fixed that mistake. Next chappie will probably be Percy, but it may take a few chapters for him to show up. Your question was: "If Apollo and Artemis are twins shouldn't their last names be the same?" Answer: Not only does it sound way cooler for them to have different last names, but do you really think they would want anything in common? No, they are both too stubborn. Also, in this story Apollo is married.**

 **JamesandLily1001- HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER! Thank you for noticing my efforts, I really try! *Says that in dramatic Californian accent and wipes away tears with a pink handkerchief*. Thank you!**

 **Percyanna dosg: Noted, I will. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **On with the story!**

Everybody in my messed up family had crowded into the minuscule living room. The Report wouldn't be on for another few minutes, but Helen was efficient in timing. She didn't want to miss a second of this report.

I ran over words in my head. Everybody knew the order of who would be introduced first. I was from the Province of Angeles, coincidentally the same place where the royal family lived. It was packed here, and I knew my chances were slim to none. At the same time, I knew it would be me.

The anthem played, and Helen actually shrieked in surprise and excitement. She started muttering about how "It will be Annabeth… she can win this…" so on and so forth.

Finally, Hermes walked onto the stage and introduced the king. Did he need introducing? Everybody knew who he was. But I knew it was important to pay attention. Shoot! I had missed the first few lines of dialogue between the Master of Events and the King himself. I mentally facepalmed.

"Just a few stragglers. But who knows, one of them could be my future daughter in law!" The King joked. My entire family laughed, but I didn't understand the line. I fixtated my attention on the screen as Prince Perseus strode out with a bounce in his step.

"Ah, the man of the hour!" announced Hermes with delight. "Prince Perseus."

Said Prince nodded appreciatively, and answered only with a "Sir," directed at Hermes. I spied another mental battle between the king and prince, and Perseus continued. "How are you doing this evening?"

Apparently, formalities were not needed at the time, but Hermes went along with it. "I am doing very well. And yourself? Your future wife is about to be announced in the next few minutes!" A loud cheering could be heard, but again it was obviously edited in.

"Well, I am…" Perseus cleared his throat, "just fine, thank you for asking. I am very excited to meet the Selected women." The shot zoomed away from him and back to the Master of Events. Hermes seemed to be itching to say something.

He ignored it for now, and made his announcement. "And now, the two everyone had been waiting for: Artemis Nightshade and Apollo Solace!" The twins sauntered onto the stage with leisurely steps, and sat in two chairs that had been dragged to the stage.

Apollo displayed his trademark flashy grin, and held up some notecards to the lights and cameras. Artemis did the same, only her notecards weren't color coded in wild hues. As they did so, a black screen popped up over the camera. It was to display the Selection Candidates. Another box popped up to display the prince's reaction.

I glanced over and saw Helen picking at her perfect nails.

"Miss Thalia Grace of Paloma, Two." A girl with black hair and bright blue eyes appeared. Percy seemed impressed, he had raised his eyebrows.

"Miss Rachel Elizabeth Dare of Carolina, Three." Another girl popped up with frizzy red hair and a paint-splattered blouse. I missed Percy's reaction by wondering what kind of three dressed so casually. Were those paint stains real? Was that a new trend for people with money?

"Miss Clarisse La Rue of Yukon, Six." The minute I heard six, I turned my head wildly to look at her picture. Everything about her was brown- her eyes, her hair. Her skin was light but tan and she had extraordinary muscles. I wondered what her profession was.

"Miss Calypso Atlas of Waverly, Two." Oh no, I had heard of her before. She was gorgeous, had a good family, and was known by practically everyone in Illéa. I saw her picture, she had dressed practically and accessorized with a scarf, hat, and gloves. It wasn't even winter yet.

"Miss Georgina Abbot of Angeles, Two." Wait… was that? Yes, they said Angeles! But wait… that was my spot! That was my province. Helen's wail confirmed it all.  
I wasn't in the Selection. I tuned out the rest of the names. When the Report finished, I ran up to my room.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

It wasn't me.

Those three words were repeating in my head every second of every day. It had been three days now. I was expected to get right back into my daily schedule. My job lists were filled up. I danced at parties, one funeral, and a birthday celebration for a six. It was my job.

My family looked at me sympathetically, but none of them understood. I had done extensive mental preparation for that moment. With Helen convincing me to go into the Selection, and my father telling me I would make a great queen… I just never thought about what would happen if it wasn't me.

It wasn't me.

Life went back to normal. Even though there were tides of gossip, I still managed to avoid it. I felt like my dreams had been caught in an explosion. Seeing the news each day only dug in the shrapnel further. Reports always had a headline on the Selection. Helen cooked, Dad worked, the brothers studied, I danced. I danced with furious vigor, reminding myself of one fact. It wasn't me.

I wasn't the next princess of Illéa. I wasn't fit to be royalty. I couldn't get out of this caste. I remembered stories from when I was a child, movies dad rented for low costs. They all said the same thing. They said that you could win. I was prepared to win. I felt enlightened somehow.  
But, it wasn't me.

Those princess stories where the blonde princess is saved by a knight in shining armor were useless to me when I was younger. But only four days ago, I had believed them. I was that blonde princess. I wasn't that blonde princess. There were no dragons or knights in shining armor.

It was all fake. Nothing was good about this life. And, it wasn't me. It wasn't me in the Selection, it wasn't me wearing a crown on my head, it wasn't me receiving a grand wedding to a dark haired prince.

Castes determined everything. A two had stolen my property, my spot. It should have been me. Why wasn't it me? I presented a grand smile and continued to dance. It was my caste. I threw my books down the stairs. I had no chance of reaching my dream of being an architect if I couldn't get this. My dreams were gone. I was stuck, trapped.

It still wasn't me.

 **Just to clear up some basic stuff:**

 **1\. Annabeth is a five.**

 **2\. Her profession is in the art of dancing.**

 **3\. She is from the province of Angeles.**

 **Okie, that's it. See you next chapter! Don't forget to drop in a review, and have a nice day!**

 **-Meistar**


	5. Emergencies and Exit

**Hello peoples! Just wanted to say sorry for the last chapter, it didn't go as I planned. There were a few reviews that said it didn't really make sense. Also, this chapter will by Percy POV. Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or The Selection, by Rick Riordan and Kiera Cass. Reviews:**

 **Athenachild101- Thank you so much for following this story and reviewing each chapter. Yeah, pretty much nobody saw that coming. As for the ending, I suppose you will have to wait and see- MWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. Thank you, and sorry for the long wait. I got sick, so it didn't work out. (Wow, that sounds like a breakup line, LOL).**

 **Sv007- Thank you for giving your real opinion, but in the future try to clarify more. But others agreed, the last chapter didn't work the way I intended. (Sorry!) She didn't have confidence that she would be selected, but come on. We all have that "It's going to be me" feeling whenever we enter a game of chance. Annabeth had never won in her life, and she felt like it was meant to be her in some way. She wanted to be special. I will try to make the characters back into character, but in the beginning, I am trying to establish the story too.**

 **Guest- I suppose you will have to see... Thanks for leaving a review!**

 **Penny (Guest)- Thank you, and to you as well!**

 **Guest- Don't worry, this plot will be explained in the chapter. I am writing angst, give me a break people! LOL.**

 **JamesAndLily1001- Yeah, I am literally obsessed with Zoe. I have a massive problem with Rick for killing her off. Too desperate? Well, that can be worked with. I mainly want Annabeth to have flaws- but I didn't know how to incorporate hubris as a** ** _fatal_** **flaw. I decided to give her multiple problems, just not as extreme. But since she is from a low caste, desperation would be natural. Thank you!**

 **Waterfirewitch- Yup, that about sums up all of the reviews.**

 **On with the chapter!**

"Yes, I am looking forward to the Selection. Certainly not, I would never limit my choice based on physical attributes. Sorry, I see my mother calling. I should probably go talk to her. Thank you for your questions, sir." The man in charge of interrogating- sorry, interviewing me- reluctantly moved his cameras and crew away from my face. Thank goodness for my mother, I would be lost without her.

I weakly smiled at my queen. My mother was dressed beautifully tonight. She had a soft golden dress on, and gorgeous topazes studded into her intricate jewelry. She beckoned over to me again, and I stepped toward her. She always joked about being old, but I couldn't spot a single grey hair upon her head.

"Percy, dear. Are you enjoying the festivities?" she asked. Her voice was as soft as the tone of her billowing dress. Her eyes swept over the heads of the joyful guests in our home, then returned to my face. She had a glass of white wine in her hands and took a sip whilst waiting for me to answer.

I grinned awkwardly and placed my gaze upon my sister. She was at the refreshments table, being bombarded by news reporters. Knowing her, she probably loved the attention. "I am sure Estelle likes this far more, which is strange considering the reason why there is a party today."

My mother grinned at my joke, and I appreciated the break in her formality. "Percy, I have some papers for you to go over. If you would like, I could show you them now."

Instantly, I nodded rapidly- anything to escape the celebrations. Without a word, she strode for the door. I followed her, only to be interrupted from my stride by a crowded bubble of reporters and flashing lights.

A man with an absurd mustache began yelling questions at me. I managed to mutter "Sorry, I have work to do. Sure, I am excited to meet the thirty-five ladies. My apologies gentlemen, I really must leave now." With that, I escaped the hordes. I couldn't find my mother, so I headed toward her office without her.

Once I escaped from the great room, I strolled to my mother's office. I saw the lights on through the door and came to the conclusion that my mother was already in her office. I slowly opened the door and spied my mom nodding her head to acknowledge my presence.

"Go and take a seat, dear. I have many papers for you to fill out," she told me. Then she handed over a large piece of paper- it must have been roughly 20 by 20 inches. As I studied it, I realized it was a map of the second floor. An architectural plan, even though it was already finished.

Sally noticed my confusion and stopped rustling around in her office drawers when she found a pencil. "Here, Percy. I was supposed to fill this out myself, but you seem bored. It is a planning sheet for where the Selected ladies will sleep. As in where their rooms are."

"Alright, sure mom. Thanks." I began to fill out the sheet after she provided me with a list of names. I was honestly too lazy to make a good map, so I just filled in the names from top to bottom. My mother raised her eyebrows at my antics but didn't argue with me.

The first name on the list... Thalia Grace. I remembered her. She had been smiling dangerously in her photo. Yesterday, when the names had been drawn on The Report, she had been the first called. I assigned her a room near the Minstrel's Gallery.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare was next. Her last name intrigued me, I wondered if she was as proud as it implied. I assigned her a room in the top left. The third girl was Clarisse La Rue. She was a six. I would need to put her far away from Rachel since she was a Two.

Wait, where did _that_ come from? I didn't want to discriminate by caste. That was ridiculous. I roughly erased Clarisse's name, leaving smudges on the paper. I put her directly across from Rachel. I decided to put Calypso Atlas near Rachel because they would probably enjoy each other's company. But I quickly realized that I shouldn't cram all of the Twos into one place, so I put Georgina Abbott in the upper right instead.

I filled in the rest of the floorplan, but I did attempt to put in some effort. I took castes and interests into consideration. I was lucky that these supplied forms included hobbies and passions.

When I finished the floorplan, I looked through the Selected Profiles yet again. I tried to look only at their interests and autobiographies. It was difficult, though, to ignore the blaring numbers announcing the castes. I also wanted to ignore photos, but they were plastered on the fronts of each Profile.

Within a few minutes, I was bored. All of the grinning faces looked the same to me- just a smile. The hobbies and interests were all similar, and I felt like a creep when looking at the medical history.

Just as I set down the papers, a man in a brown suit stumbled into the room. He was obviously winded, and there was glistening sweat on his forehead. "M'lady, and Prince Perseus, my apologies for interrupting you at this time. But you, Prince Perseus- you're needed for an urgent matter. Please, follow me!" Before my mother had a chance to rise and ask what was going on, he darted out of the room.

I stood, dumbfounded. But my mother waved a hand at me. "Well Perseus, you heard him. Figure out what's happening. Go!" She flicked her wrist, and I came to my senses enough to bolt out the door. I followed the wheezing man down two hallways, and I landed at my father's office.

Poseidon had lost all of his calm composure. He was pacing throughout the room and running his fingers through his hair. Luckily, his crown was off. When he realized that I was standing in the doorway, he gestured for me to take a seat.

I looked around the room. There were four other people here. That man in the shabby cacao-brown suit, who had hastily taken a seat. There were two men. One of them had a sharp black suit and greased silver hair. He was carrying a cane, but it looked more like a weapon than a tool for standing.

The other man had a simple grey vest and a red bowtie. He seemed very uptight, from his strained neck to his polished fashion sense. And the last person there was a woman. She was dressed very boldly, in a lacy pink day dress and heels that looked torturous. A white sun hat was on her head, and it had fake jewels sewn into the crown.

My father took a seat at his desk, clearly distracted. Everybody around me seemed pale in complexion, and all of them seemed stressed. I broke the silence. "Sirs and Miss, with all due respect- what the hell is going on here?" I tried to avoid raising my voice, but curiosity lifted my volume.

I could see my father gritting his teeth together, clearly not wanting to respond. I was finally answered by the man in the vest. Despite his appearance, he spoke in a very timid voice. "Sir, we have been getting information from the Selected Ladies for a while now. After The Report confirmed which women were Selected, we sent aides to assist them. Every second counts, and we had to help prep all of them. But recently-."

The man in the vest was rudely interrupted by the only woman in the room. She coughed into her fist, then spoke. "Excuse me sirs, but I believe I should take it from here." She sent a pointed glance at the vested man, and he sunk back into his chair. "Sirs and your majesties, my name is Cynthia Haft. I was one of the aides sent to meet and prep Georgina Abbott, the Selected Candidate from this Province. Angeles."

After this statement, the last man who had not yet spoken raised his voice to interject opinions and facts. "Sirs and Miss, Georgina Abbott broke one of the main rules of the Selection. Not only was her virginity not intact, but she refused to say so. One of her so-called "Friends" raised our awareness of this fact. Because of this, she is unable to participate in the Selection."

My father looked up from his fisted hands, then slowly released them. "Mister Blofis, please go get my wife. Miss Haft, you may leave. As for you, Sirs Delphinus and Carcinus- Please remain here. And Miss Haft: Remain silent. That is an order. We cannot let the news reporters- nor anyone- learn about this recent development. You may go."

I figured who was who when the brown-vested man rose and fled down the hallway. The aide, Miss Haft, rose from her chair with grace, waved goodbye, and sauntered out of the office. When they left, my father instantly got down to business.

"Delphin. What is at stake here?" he asked sharply. He didn't even glance at me, only making eye contact with his trusted advisor. The sharp, elderly man instantly introduced several points. "Sirs, there are a lot of things at stake here. For one, the caste system is at risk. I am sure that you all remember the horrid story of your father, the former ruler of Illea?" Without waiting for an acknowledgment, Delphin continued. "A similar thing happened to him, only the girl who broke the law was a six. I am sure you remember because that province was forbidden from entering the next Selection. There were only thirty-four girls in your Selection, King Poseidon. If we let Miss Abbott go unpunished, that province and her caste will most likely strike, since it would be unfair. That could cause turmoil in the castes."

My father began taking notes, but I was only trying to concentrate on the rapid flow of words spouting out of Delphin's mouth. King Poseidon nodded. "Continue."

Delphin nodded quickly. "Also sirs, punishing her would go bad as well. We all know that if you take out two at the top, everybody below her falls too. Most likely we are looking at hundreds of employments since she started a psychology studying institute. All of the professors would lose their jobs, but since she would be deemed an eight- all of the students that graduated from that institute would lose any credentials that they had. Then they would be replaced as well. Again, turmoil in the castes. Especially in the threes, which we cannot lose. They supply all technology."

I was beginning to wish that I had taken notes, but Delphin stopped talking. Unfortunately, I had opinions on this matter. I knew my father would rather let others be unemployed, instead of letting someone go free of a crime. I couldn't exactly say yes to that. "Father, sirs. May I add another point? We most likely cannot afford to punish Miss Abbott, because she is a Two. She would simply pay her way out of any punishment we could give her. But more importantly, she comes from a powerful and rich family. They can influence others."

My father shared a glare with me for interjecting any opinion. "Well then, _son_. What do you suggest?" he asked. I knew that he was trying to shut me down, but I needed to get my opinion across.

I swallowed and bit down at my tongue. Then I thought of something. "We cannot punish Miss Abbott, nor can we let her walk free. We certainly can't allow her to participate in the Selection. What if we say that there was something else wrong with her biography? Maybe we could say that she got some deadly illness, and then we can draw somebody else to take her place."

Lord Carcinus- the timid man in the bowtie- agreed with me. "Sirs, that might actually work quite well. Because of her high status, it would be expected that she would recover. But of course, that would be a risk to others in the palace. Of course, she broke a law. What are we to do about that?"

My father nodded, processing information slowly. He ran a finger down his chin. "Well, it seems that this should be our plan- thank you Perseus. I believe I should take it from here. We will not inform the public of her crime or punish her. And if we do decide to do so in the future, it will need to happen after the Selection. We cannot allow the public to wonder if the other ladies broke the rules. Gossip spreads quickly. All of you should keep your silence."

Just then, the door opened by a crack. I saw my gorgeous mother in the hall, with a worried look on her face. "Perseus? What has happened? What is going on here?"

My father seemed to sit up a little bit, then quickly gave orders. "Sir Carcinus, find Miss Haft. The two of you will travel to Georgina's residence, make sure you arrive as soon as possible. We want to stop all talks between her and anybody else. If the secret slips, it will unravel everything. Make sure to find whatever friend that could know about this, and figure out whom the romantic partner was. Remove them both as well. As for an excuse, figure out something. I want anybody involved in this gone by tomorrow. Understood?"

Sir Carcinus nodded, then scooted back in his chair, stood up, and speed-walked down the hallway towards the Great Room. My father continued. "Sir Delphinus, inform the news crews of this _tragedy_. Inform them that a new name will be drawn privately; and that the Selected Lady drawn will be taken to the palace immediately. Yes, that is _before the other candidates_ , Delphin. But listen- I want you to inform the news crews when Sir Carcinus informs you that Miss Abbott is removed, along with any others that may be involved. _Do you understand_?"

Delphin nodded frantically and left the room. When he passed my mother in the doorway, she stepped into the office with a cross look on her face. "Poseidon, what was that all about?"

My father collapsed back into his chair. For the first time today, the dark lines under his eyes were visible. They seemed to bore into his skin. "Sally, dear. It was just a complication. It turns out, the Angeles candidate for the Selection fell dreadfully ill. She is being replaced. We will draw names tomorrow."

She nodded and tiredly smiled. "That poor girl, I hope she recovers. Georgina, wasn't it? Come on, Poseidon. The party ended five minutes ago, and the camera crews are gone. You should go rest."

As they left the room, I continued to sit. It pained me to know that my father had to lie to his wife to keep his country safe. And here I was, about to choose one. It hurt, even more, to know that my mother had already memorized everyone's names. The only one I knew was Georgina because she was no longer here.

 **YAY! Annabeth has a new chance because Georgina broke the rules. I think we can all tell what is going to happen next chapter. Or can you? MWAHAHAHAHA. I will add plot twists until the end of this story, get used to it. (Yes, I'm evil. Deal with it).**

 **Feel free to drop a review! How did you like Percy's POV? And my apologies for taking so long to update. To say sorry, I gave you an extra-long chapter! Okay, I will stop rambling. Thanks, and bye!**

 **-Meistar**


	6. Rooms and Rambles

**Hello peoples! Well, to start off, I am VERY ANGRY at my computer. (Even though technically this was my fault). I was very busy over the past week, so I wrote about 500 words in one sitting. My usual chapters are 1000-3000 words though, so I didn't submit the document. But my computer ran out of batteries and deleted everything I had written. So I did it again. I rewrote it. And it ran out of batteries AGAIN. So this is the third time that I have written this. Just so you know, it is written with fiery anger. And I am too angry to do a disclaimer. Reviews:**

 **Sv007- Yeah, but I personally hated Rick Riordan when he published Mark of Athena. That cliffhanger was awful. And don't worry, I have a plan for managing the many personalities. You will have to wait and see... MUAHAHAHAHA**

 **Guest- Thanks for reviewing! Here's your chapter.**

 **Penny (Guest)- Yay! She can! (Or can she?) NO SPOILERS. Thanks, you too!**

 **Athenachild101- YAY! THE NEXT CHAPTER! Well, this chapter is only Percy again- sorry! And yes, you guessed it! Thank you for being such a consistent reviewer. Here is your update. XOXO**

Percy's POV:

"Dad? Where are we going?" I asked curiously. My father had barged into my room at midnight and only said something about an "Urgent Event." Since then, he had said nothing else to me. I was currently trailing behind him in the hallway, trying to keep up with his swift steps. Many of the guards were staring at us.

He kept up the rapid pace and didn't answer my queries. I had vague suspicions as to where we were going, but it couldn't be. Princes weren't allowed in the drawing room. Besides, I had no idea where the drawing room was. It couldn't be in the palace- could it?

My father covered ground quite quickly. Within only about thirty seconds, he had reached the massive, golden spiral staircase at the end of the main hallway. Without pause, he hastened down the steps. Meanwhile, I was trying to catch up, to no avail. I wondered if he was actually trying to leave me behind.

Now I was annoyed. He wasn't speaking to me at all. Did I do something to anger him? "Sir?" I called out to him. "Can you please answer me? Where are we going?"

Finally, he wheeled around. At first, I thought he was going to look at me. Instead, he barreled around a corner and suddenly stopped. Then he finally opened his mouth to speak. "Perseus, can you possibly _quiet down and stop making a scene_?" he hissed.

I was about to snap at him, but I realized that would be directly defying his orders. Instead, I curtly nodded and stopped speaking. I observed my surroundings, still slightly winded. I recognized where we were by the massive painting of a fruit bowl hanging on the wall directly across from us. We were near the Report room.

This was confirmed when a red-clad guard opened a pair of double doors for my father and me. We strode into the busy Report room. There were people crowded on the set, moving furniture and testing cameras. A massive chroma-keying screen was erected on the left side of the room, and the right wall was covered in pictures of famous guests on the show and rewards for "Best Television Show of the Century." There were also two doors to other rooms.

I had been forever convinced that Apollo Solace and Artemis Nightshade each had their own offices, but that was apparently wrong. One of the doors led to both of their offices. The other led to- I didn't know where. Now I would learn where the other door on the right wall went.

Another guard appeared out of nowhere and rushed to open the door for us. My father strode into the room with no hesitation. I glanced at the guard before entering the room. What was this place? I had never been in here. That was strange when you added in the fact that this was my home.

The first thing I noticed when I crossed the threshold was the darkness. I was extremely accustomed to walking into a room where the lights were on. Here, they were all off. The guard behind us flicked a switch on the wall, which flooded the room with color and light.

Now I actually could see. It was actually very snug but terribly appointed here. A worn, Prussian blue curtain hung from a metal rod and split the room in half. I couldn't see behind the curtain. The only thing I could see was the drab half- consisting of only a large table and many wooden chairs.

I quickly counted the chairs and came up with thirty-seven. That confirmed it, this was the drawing room. Thirty-five chairs for a delegate from each province, and two extra chairs for the king and a servant to take notes.

My father waited for a moment, taking in the sights. It was strange to think that he had been here yesterday morning, drawing names. Then he reached up and pulled the curtain away, revealing the other side of the room. I allowed myself to exclaim "Woah."

The room was much wider than I had originally thought. When my father pushed the curtain off to the side, a huge chamber was revealed. There were tile floors, that caused my dress shoes to make a clacking noise every time I took a step. But that wasn't the astonishing part. The staggering detail that made me curious was none other than a plastic cube set on a chair in the middle of the chamber.

"Father? What is that?" I asked. But I already had a general idea. Inside the cube was a few hundred slips of paper. They were all crumpled into balls, and I couldn't see what was written on them.

My father didn't answer my question very well, saying only "All will be explained in time, Perseus. We just have to wait for..." he never finished his sentence, because the door was opened again and two people sauntered in, immediately taking seats around the large table and noting our presence.

I recognized one of the newcomers, as I had seen him the night before. Sharp silvery hair, and a well-tailored black suit nearly identical to the one he had worn before- that was my father's trusted advisor, Delphinus. The other was a blonde woman wearing a fitted blue blazer. They both nodded their heads to acknowledge our presences.

"Delphinus, Miss Tabitha Wordsworth," my father stated. He needed only to say those words, to get his points across. Delphinus was taking notes on a purple pad that looked like it belonged to a kindergartener, whilst Tabitha was unashamedly staring at the plastic bin on the chair. I couldn't blame her, as I was doing the same thing.

"Your Majesties and miss, we are gathered here today in a classified manner. No note of this day should be spread to the general public, or it would cause rebellions and mayhem," announced Delphinus. I thought he was being rather hypocritical because he had taken notes up to this point. But to prove his point, Delphinus stashed his notebook in his briefcase.

I decided to voice some of my inquiries because nobody had answered them so far. "Sirs, Miss." I hated beginning each sentence with titles, but it was the formality. "May I ask what we are doing here?"

Miss Wordsworth rushed to answer. Her voice was annoyingly high pitched. "Sirs." She gave a false smile. "Perseus, we are here to draw a new name for the Province of Angeles."

"And what is in that cube there?" I asked. I pointed my head towards the plastic box set on the chair. "Are those... the names? Wouldn't there be more of them?"

Delphin answered my question eagerly as if he existed to do so. "Yes, my prince. Those are the Selected. There were actually about twenty-five thousand women who entered the Selection from the Province of Angeles. But it would be terribly inconvenient to have each applicant here- it would take up far too much space. There is a committee that puts numbers on paper slips- each woman receives a number. Then the slips are shaken up, and somebody grabs random handfuls to put in a smaller container. And yes, that is the container. One of those slips will be drawn by yours truly. Then we will input the number into a computer, and it will give us the information about the candidate."

I tried to follow his words, but I still didn't understand what in the world he was saying. Luckily, I was spared from having to answer by my father clapping his hands together. The loud noise echoed off the tiled floors. "Well, we should get to it! Delphin, please draw a number." Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed the shiny bin labeled "Angeles" and passed it to Delphinus.

I drew in a breath as Delphin unscrewed the lid. When he did, a few paper slips fell out onto the floor. Delphin didn't pick them up. It was hard to imagine each of these papers as a woman- somebody who wanted to marry me. Then again, they could be in it for the crown. My mother always told me about her Selection, and how there were ladies in it entirely for the position and caste.

Delphin reached into the container. It was packed like sardines, filled to the brim. As he put his hand inside, dozens of papers fell out. He was definitely enjoying this- he shook the container around a few times. Papers spilled to the floor and laid motionless.

Finally, Delphinus grabbed a slip of paper. Unfortunately for me, he laughed like a child and dropped it in again. The suspense was killing me, but I didn't have to snap. My father did instead, saying "Well, get on with it!"

Delphin did as his king commanded, plunging his hand into the pile and grabbing a piece of paper. The number read: **321631**. There was nothing else on the paper. Delphin handed the paper to me, and I stared at it in disbelief. There was a one-in-thirty-five percent chance that this would be my future wife. When I thought about it like that, the percentage seemed higher.

My father seemed annoyed at the drama and stood up instantaneously. He motioned for everybody to follow him, and we did. On the other side of the room, there was a computer. It was large, box-like, and plugged into the wall behind it with a heavy orange cord.

While Miss Tabitha logged on to the computer, everybody waited in silence. When it finished loading, a browser popped up on the screen. It was a page with a backdrop of green, and two boxes. The first was to enter text, the second was simply labeled "Enter."

Miss Wordsworth backed away from the computer. It took a few seconds, but I realized that I was supposed to enter the number. I looked at the sheet of paper in my hand, and then I entered the number into the text box.

 **321631.**

 **Enter.**

 _ **Are you sure? This information will be submitted to the database.**_

 **Yes, I'm sure**

 **No, I'm not a robot.**

 _ **Loading: Please wait**_

 _ **Loading: Please wait**_

 _ **Loading: Please wait**_

 _ **Your search is completed. You will see your results in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...**_

 **MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I'm sure you thought that you would figure things out. While we all know what's going to happen (Or do we?) I just couldn't resist that cliffhanger. Sorry for the slow updates- but if you review I will update faster. Please? No? Okay... sorry for asking.**

 **But seriously, please review. I will see 'yall next chapter. Bye!**

 **-Meistar**


	7. Profiles and Partings

**OH, MY GOD, MY COMPUTER ERASED MY PROGRESS AGAIN! This time it was mostly my fault, but I am going to blame the manufacturers instead. I am so sorry for the long wait, every time I write something it gets deleted. So annoying! This will most likely be one of the last updates. For the next two weeks, I have plans. But I will pre-write stuff for you guys, and publish a super-long chapter. Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or The Selection. Note: I have started to include the reviews, but I will make sure to increase the word counts so that those don't matter too much. Reviews:**

 **Sv007: "** ** _You want us to update? I thought it was your job. Btw very nice chapter. Can we expect to see the twist that the number is not Annabeth's? Well, I can't update but here's a review."_** **Sorry, that was a typo. It is now fixed. Thank you! I suppose you will have to wait and see... NO SPOILERS!**

 **Klad-Black20-** ** _"_** ** _A waiting percabeth fluff."_** **Well, is that what my audience wants? Thanks for letting me know, now I can** ** _slowly deprive you of Percabeth._** **Muahaha.**

 **Penny-** ** _"_** ** _Why? Why the cliffhanger?_** ** _I loved that chapter and I am sorry about your computer. Anyways thank you for writing this. I hope you have a good week. Xx"_** **. Thanks, Penny! I leave cliffhangers because I am an evil demon. And yeah, my computer is kind of annoying sometimes. (Totally not my fault).**

 **Guest-** ** _"_** ** _This chapter was great. The action really carried along and I am so curious what happened next._** ** _I think what was good about this was the pacing!"_** **Thanks, guest! I was a little worried about that, so I'm glad it turned out well.**

 **Athenachild101-** ** _"YAY A NEW CHAPTER OF."_** **Um, I think you clicked "Enter" a bit too soon. But thanks for what you said, you sound very enthusiastic. XD**

 **Athenachild101- " _Whoops I accidentally hit post-WAYYYYY too early and it would only let me post 1 review per chapter so I had to go back a little way to find the only chapter I hadn't reviewed. Anyways: YAYYYY ANOTHER CHAPTER OF ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES! And I'm so sorry about your computer that's the WORST :( This chapter was really good and INTENSE I knew you were going to leave that cliffhanger at the end though... but I was still so sad! It's got to be Annabeth. I just believe it! I'm so excited to meet all the selection girls- will they be based on the PJO characters? I'm fairly certain that it would come down to Annabeth and Rachel (maybe Calypso as the 3rd) but it would be so funny to see some other girls in there (Clarisse would be hysterical) or even Silena and Reyna! Anyways I'm so excited to see where the story goes! Please update soon! XOXOXO. Athenachild101."_**

 **Wow, that was a long review. Thanks, Athenachild101. LOL, I guess I was right. Wait... you knew about the cliffhanger? That means I am becoming predictable! I will fix this, by throwing insanely wild curves every which way until everyone in my audience is confuzzled and clueless! YOU HAVE MY WORD. And yes, all of the Selection girls are based on PJO characters. And none of them are goddesses. I read another story that just picked up random characters. I did a ton of research on each character, I have them all planned out. XOXO, thanks for reviewing.**

 **Waterfirewitch- "** ** _that's Annabeth!"_** **Well, you need to read this coming chapter to know more... Sorry. I REFUSE TO SPOIL ANYTHING. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Guest- _"Story is really good, just wish you wouldn't end with cliffhangers."_ Noted, I will continue to do that. Thanks for your input.**

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Percy's POV:

 _Your search is completed. You will see your results in 5... 4... 3... 2..._

Why would anyone design the program like this? It was just wasting time. The seconds seemed to stretch on into hours. Was it me, or was the site loading slower? The suspense was paining me. I heard an intake of breath from my father.

 _1..._

A name appeared on the screen in bold lettering. Statistics floated into view. I scanned the page, trying to get every detail into my memory. ANNABETH CHASE. CASTE: FIVE. PROVINCE: ANGELES. AGE: SEVENTEEN. Her family- she had two brothers, a stepmother, and a father named Frederick Chase. I definitely wouldn't remember the names, but that was to be expected. She lived far away, on the other side of Angeles.

"Delphinus, Miss Wordsworth. You two will go and retrieve Miss Chase. She is coming right to the palace. Georgina Abbott's sickness is a scandal, and the press will instantly catch on to that. We want that girl to be given the same chance as the rest of them, so we need to hold them back from any interviews. Make sure to inform her family of this. Go," commanded my father. He ran his fingers through his hair, a habit that my entire family shared.

My father took my place at the computer, and I moved without question. He clicked a few buttons, but I didn't catch what they did. After he did that, he stepped back to face me. "Perseus," he said. His voice was deep, but it held no emotion. "You must not set her apart from the rest of the group. That is what the entire world will do. Do not think this is fate, it is only luck." With that, he strode out of the room, leaving me alone.

I heard a strange clicking noise, which I had heard before. Turning my head around, I saw what it had originated from. A printer had been placed on a side table next to the wall, and it was sputtering out a piece of paper. It was an old piece of machinery, and it only printed black-and-white papers. I saw a slip of paper emerging. It had Annabeth's picture, name, and caste on the front, and everything else on the back.

I stared at the paper for a long time. Eventually, I drifted out of the room. A guard opened the door for me, and I reached my office. Then I fished out Georgina's papers. A smiling photo of her was placed on the front. I stared for too long, my mind filled to the brim with what-ifs. I came to a final decision, I needed to let go of any thoughts of Georgina. I took her paper profile out of the neat stacks of papers and set it in the waste bin. I placed the profile of Annabeth on the top of the stack. That was her place now.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Annabeth's POV:

I was holding a large volume in my hand, and lazily flipping through it. My head had given up on reading it long ago when my dyslexia had caused some aching. Now I was turning pages, seeing only a few words before turning them over again. There was no point, I had already finished it. But I had nothing else to do.

There was a knock on the door downstairs, but I ignored it. I could hear Helen's footsteps going past my room, and down the stairs. Then I tuned out the sound of her voice because it was too high pitched and distracting. I did hear another feminine voice at the doorway, and a deep masculine one too. There were two people there. I vaguely wondered if we were hosting lunch with the neighbors when Helen called. "Annabeth? Dearie? These people would like to see you."

At that, I frowned and pushed my book closed. Who would want to see _me_? After speed-walking down the stairs, I saw them. There were two visitors, as I had suspected. The man was cleanly shaven and had on a finely-cut suit. The woman had on the most strands of pearls I had ever seen in my life- she looked very ridiculous and _very_ rich. They had to be Twos. There was only one question remaining: Why did Twos show up at our home?

The woman smiled at me- her teeth were as white as the pearl jewelry. She had a sugary voice, perhaps even more annoying than Helen's. "You are Miss Chase, correct?" she asked me.

I could only nod to answer her question, my mind was coming up with crazier ideas as to why they were here by the second. "Good. We need to speak with you. Preferably alone, but if you would like your stepmother to stay, that would be fine," ordered the silver-haired man. He seemed very sharp. "However, considering the fact that she's your _step_ -mother, it may be better to speak to your father."

I noticed that Helen's face had fallen. While I often didn't like her very much, I also had to respect that my father did. And now I was angry at the fancy-man for disrespecting her so bluntly. I shook my head. "Helen can stay. I trust her. What do you need to tell me?"

The man sighed and gestured at the stools by the counter. "May we sit? This is going to be complicated." Without waiting for an answer, he and the blonde took seats. Helen raised her eyebrows but joined them. I decided to follow her example too, and I pulled out a stool.

"Annabeth, we have a lot of news. My name is Tabitha, and he is Delphinus," said the woman. She pointed at 'Delphinus' as she spoke. "This has to be fast, so I will try to explain. Have you heard of Georgina Abbott?"

I nodded again to say "Yes, of course, I have. She was Selected from this Province."

Delphinus waved his hand flippantly, which I found to be obnoxious. "Yes, yes. I am sorry to rush, but we are in quite a hurry. Listen carefully, because this is incredibly important. Georgina Abbott... was not capable of being a part of the Selection. She was not qualified to be there. We did a re-drawing at the palace this morning, which was only a few hours ago."

My jaw must have dropped to the ground, and I covered my mouth with my hands. My eyes were wide. "Do you mean...?" I asked. I was unable to finish my sentence.

"Yes, we drew your name. Congratulations, you are part of the Selection," announced Delphin. Helen was surely about to shriek, but he cut her off. "I am sorry Miss Chase, but time is of the essence. Many people consider Georgina's inability to participate in a scandal. There is a lot of hostility going around right now. In addition, you are a few days being in preparations," recited Delphin.

"Dear, you have to come with us in an hour," pronounced Tabitha. "Please get packed, we will be right outside. I can help you prepare, but Delphin has other important business to attend to." She nodded at Delphin, and he stood up from his stool and left without a word.

Tabitha actually grinned as Helen let loose a loud cheer. "Annabeth! You are one of the Selected... this is crazy!" Helen enveloped me in a hug, and I accepted it without question. Soon, Helen let me away, saying "No, no. You need to get ready. We can say goodbyes in a moment. I will let the rest of the family know you are leaving." She bounced out of the room with a new spring in her step.

I sat there, dumbfounded. It was really me after all. I was stunned into silence until Tabitha told me "Miss Chase, we really do need to get you packed. Where is your room?"

We both went upstairs, and two maids followed us. They had appeared from nowhere. One of them had a bag for me, a large white suitcase. I knew that I wouldn't have enough belongings to fill it, but I thanked them and set it on the floor to pack.

The maids said nothing, but it turned out that Tabitha was a chatterbox. I couldn't relate to her chosen topics either. She wanted to talk about her recent extravagant trip to Dominica, or how her niece had just gotten married to a wealthy Three, but her brother-in-law disapproved of the caste. She was also very insensitive at times, making comments about Sixes as if they were animals. I mostly ignored her, occasionally saying "Yeah" and "Sounds interesting."

I didn't understand the need for such a big suitcase, especially since all I needed was personal belongings and a few outfits for the first days I would be at the palace. None of the other girls were arriving early, so I wasn't allowed to be made over either. No advantages would be presented to me, save for learning where things were in the palace and being granted shelter from news crews.

After choosing a few outfits, Tabitha handed the clothing to the maids. They promptly folded and placed it into the bag with speed. Their blank faces revealed no thoughts, but I wondered what they thought of me.

The bag was barely filled, there was still a lot of space left behind. I chose some books to stuff into the bag, which filled it to the halfway mark. I also took with me a letter that I used for a bookmark. There was nothing else that I owned, save for a journal and some pens. Helen came to the rescue in operation "Fill Annabeth's Bag."

She held a golden necklace, with a beautiful red stone in the middle. There was a black box for it. "Annabeth, I want you to remember home. This necklace passed down in my family, from daughter to daughter. I want to give it to you now." She placed the ebony box in the bag, which luckily was now filled.

Helen had taken the necklace out of the box. She gave me a gentle push that reminded me to turn around, and I lifted up my heavy mane of hair. She clipped the necklace's clasp together, and I turned around again. There were no words enough to thank her, but I tried. "Helen... thank you. I will wear it every day."

She cracked a wistful smile. "Well, not every day. It won't go with some of those gowns they will have for you. But you wear it, and remember your family when you do so." She waggled her finger at me, and said: "Oh, and now I feel like an old grandmother."

There was a clock in the hallway, and I could see it through the door. It was 12:54. I had only six minutes to say goodbye. Suddenly everything was rushed. I whispered "Love you, Helen. See you soon." The corners of Helen's mouth lifted.

"Sweetie, I hope I will not see you soon. Try to stay there as long as you can. Good luck." She gave me a quick hug. I looked over her shoulder to see the clock. 12:45. Five minutes left to say my goodbyes.

I raced down the stairs. Tabitha, Helen, and the two maids followed in my footsteps. I was briefly aware of the maids leaving my house, carrying the blank suitcase, but I saw Bobby and Matthew. Nothing else mattered as we all joined in a hug. Helen had no doubt informed them of my leaving. Our embrace weighed us down, and we were soon all crouching on the living room floor.

By now, I knew that I was crying. Warm teardrops rolled downwards, falling off of my chin. I could only whisper a rapid "Goodbye, Bobby and Matthew. Be good." They both beamed at me through their pained expressions. I didn't want to leave them, but I did. There was no way to explain how I was feeling. A yearning to advance beyond my home, but a string holding me back in the past.

I cut the string by loosening my hold on Bobby and Matthew and wiping away my tears. I only waved goodbye because my jaw had lost anything it could have said. Tabitha handed me a tissue, she had appeared out of nowhere. I took it, gently padding at my burning cheeks.

There was a car parked outside. It was massive, and shining with cleanliness. There were no seatbelts inside, and there was a driver dressed in a sharp suit. Delphinus was already in the car, sorting through paperwork on his lap. Tabitha joined me in the back seat. Delphin told me that I could eat a lunch provided by the palace, and passed it back on a silver tray. I ate it, only because there was nothing else to do.

My cheeks were stiff, because of the dried tears. Tabitha immediately caught on to this fact and handed me a hot towel. My gods, where did she get all of these things? The maids were nowhere to be found, I assumed they had taken another ride. As I dabbed at my dry skin, I stared out of the window. At that moment, I remembered: I had never said goodbye to my father.

 **Hey, peoples! Did you like this chapter? Thanks to everyone for reviewing. Keep it up. Next chapter will be her plane ride and arrival at the palace. (That's only if I don't think of crazy new crap to throw in and disrupt your reading, so don't depend on that summary).**

 **-Meistar**


	8. Trains and Travels

**First of all, I will apologize for taking SO LONG to update. Summers get busy, (insert personal excuses here). But let's skip this because I am *definitely not trying to increase the word-count with my author's notes. I am very glad that people are beginning to notice this story, and my thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, reviewed, and PM'd! Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson (Annabeth Chase does), and I do not own the Selection (Kiera Cass does). Now for the reviews:**

 **Sv007:** ** _"A good chapter, albeit a little short. I too blame the manufacturers for that, LOL. You made a typo in the chapter and wrote 12:45 instead of 12:45. Would love to hear the thoughts of Annabeth's traveling companions about her."_** **Thanks for that, but I do have a question. How long should my chapters be? That goes to EVERYONE, please answer in the reviews. I am fixing my typos as fast as I can. If you have any Beta suggestions, let me know. And as for that- maybe not. You'll see why later.**

 **Athenachild101:** ** _"YAY Annabeth WAS CHOSEN. I'm so excited for them all to meet Percy and the selection to start. I was honestly so excited when Poseidon said for him to treat Annabeth the same and then he put her on the top of the stack... ahh! Update soon please, I love this so much! XOXOXO, Athenachild101."_** **YEAH, ANNABETH WAS CHOSEN. I am with you, I wish my fingers could type faster and I could just skip to the most fluffy moments. Glad you noticed that little detail, I try to make it as fluffy as possible. Thanks for your enthusiasm, here's your chapter.**

 **Guest: "** ** _I'm a little late to this story, but OMG how could I have missed this? Your writing is incredible and the storyline is so unique. Can't wait for chapter 8!"_** **May I just say that reviews like this are what gives me the motivation to keep updating? Thank you so much! Also, that last sentence rhymes.**

 **Penny (Guest):** ** _"I loved that chapter. I can't wait for the next one. Xx."_** **Thank you, and here it is! I hope you enjoy it just as much as the last.**

 **Jason (Guest):** _ **Another great chapter. One little typo with the times 12:54 then 12:45.**_ _ **Also, the paragraph with She held a golden necklace was a little confusing. I would start the paragraph by adding the sentence before. Great writing and story!"**_ **Thank you for those suggestions! I do fix typos, so I will get to those after I finish this chapter. Thanks for reviewing.**

 **Persassy Jackson (Guest):** ** _"_** ** _GAAAHHHH I love this story! It's so good! Percy should fall for Annabeth because she isn't as fake, like the upper caste girls... just a suggestion.. :) pls update I am dying to know what happens next :)))))."_** **OMG thank you! And yes, that is a good suggestion- but I am also trying to stay away from the original plots. I have thought it through, don't worry. And don't die, here it is!**

 **Childofathena07:** ** _"This is amazing! You are such a talented writer."_** **Thank you- now for my question. Why are there two children of Athena reading my fanfiction? Seriously, look at the second reviewer of this chapter's username. Is this a coincidence? I am so confused.**

 **Tibaski (Guest): "** ** _Yay! I'm so excited for more, please post soon, Meistar!"_** **Thx, here's the next post for 'ya!**

 **That's all for the reviews. Thanks, here's your chapter:**

 _As I dabbed at my dry skin, I stared out of the window. At that moment, I remembered: I had never said goodbye to my father."_

Tabitha had insisted I call her "Miss Wordsworth," or simply 'Miss W." Since the shortened version had more syllables than her actual name, I just called her "Miss." She didn't seem to mind at all, and I nearly positive that she had already forgotten the above conversation.

The driver paid us no mind at all. He had a name-tag, so I reached my neck out to see it. But the sticky piece of paper was written in such messy cursive that I had no idea what it said. of course, this didn't soothe my nerves. I wouldn't want anybody driving me to be careless. Wait- now I sound like a haughty Two. I had better changeup that attitude.

Delphinus was looking through a women's magazine that he had found on the dashboard, and he had it tilted away from us. On the cover was a model posing seductively. I could figure out was was in that magazine too, there were tabs all over the front displaying a table of contents in fancy pink lettering. From things like "The REAL way to get clear skin," to "The mystery behind Jackie Frederick- When, where, and why did the breakup take place?"

Why was he reading this stuff? It made no sense to me. Were all palace employees sick creeps like he was? Well, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I suppose that he was bored- I was too. The car had been on the road for forty-six minutes, according to the flip-phone in Miss Wordsworth's hand. That meant that it was around 1:45, near two o'clock.

I had eaten lunch, but there were no drinks provided beside wine (Which I wouldn't drink because of my age, no matter how many times Tabitha assured me that taking a few sips wouldn't be against the law). Why was I even surprised that they had no water? most of the lower castes thought Twos drank blood anyways, for fair enough reasons.

My throat was dry, as was my tongue. I could feel my lips beginning to chap, so I pressed the damp towel I had received earlier to them, in order to moisturize them. Because of my occupation with my face's state, I failed to notice where we were when the car pulled into a parking space.

The car stopped, and the driver pulled his keys out of the ignition. Delphinus folded his magazine, hiding the cover, and stuck it into the water bottle holder on the passenger-side door. Of course, it was empty, because nobody had thought to get some water. Tabitha looked at her reflection in the window, fixing her flawless hair. Her 'Fix" actually made it look worse, she should have just let it be.

The driver's name-tag was now in view, and I could tell that his name was Steven. Steven opened the door for Tabitha, but Delphinus got out of the car by himself. I was about to follow him and do it myself when the maids from before appeared out of nowhere to get the door for me. They were carrying my bag with me, meaning it had been transported by another vehicle. Another detail I missed.

Miss Wordsworth grabbed her jeweled clutch-bag and smoothed her skirt, before taking Steven's extended hand and stepping onto the sidewalk. I was ushered to join her, Delphinus and the maids at my sides. Tabitha whisper-yelled at me in a honeyed voice "Dearie, I'm _so_ sorry about this, but fame has cons. When we walk through the train station, you will need to smile wide as if you were modeling. Once people realize that you are Selected, they will comb through footage for anything they could use to undermine you. There are cameras at this station, and so they will have footage of you. Try to look natural though."

How in the world was I supposed to look natural and unnatural at the same time? I had no idea what she wanted me to do, but I tried nonetheless. the pressure on my back was very heavy as I tried to follow her suggestions. Despite what I had gone through up to this point, I still wanted to win this. I would have to use anything I could to my advantage. So I displayed a casual grin, even though people stared at me.

Luckily, the young maids bought me some bottled water from a vendor in the station before we reached the platform. Miss Wordsworth ranted about how we were going on a train instead of flying because some "half dumb Six" lost their reservation until she realized nobody cared about what she was saying.

The train arrived, slowly coming to a stop. A loud voice boomed out from some speakers and announced something about a delayed train on another platform, amongst other things that didn't really concern me. We finally boarded the orange locomotive. The maids set down my bag in an overhead bin and then went to another car, probably for lower class passengers. The driver had disappeared in the hordes of people at the platform.

After only a few seconds, the train began moving, and Tabitha gave out an obnoxious shriek when it jolted to life. Everybody stared at her for making such a big deal out of nothing, but she didn't seem to mind their reactions. I got the feeling that she loved being the center of attention.

We found our seats, which were (unsurprisingly) First Class. There were four seats, even though we only needed three, crowded around a table facing a window. I glanced around, before suddenly noticing something.

The entire car was empty. I wanted to know why. So I asked, "Miss Wordsworth, why is there nobody else in the train car? Did you reserve the entire thing?"

Delphinus wasted no time interrupting. "Yes ma'am, we did. And for specific reasons too. We have a lot of information to go over. We have specialists from the palace randomly placed in other cars of the train, and they will come in and go over some things with you. We needed to do this because you have hardly enough time. The other Selected women have an entire week to prepare for their trip to the palace. You only have a few days. We cannot waste even a moment, and that includes now."

Tabitha seemed none-too-happy that her voice had been swept aside, and so she inputted into the conversation as well. "Delphinus and I will leave now, and go get the first people you will be meeting with. Stay kind and formal, these people are to be respected. Good luck!" She grabbed her jeweled clutch and dragged Delphinus out of the cabin by the shoulder.

I stared out of the window for who knows how long, until the door to the car swished open and a woman entered. My first thought? She was most definitely a model. She possessed long and curled brown hair, and eyes that seemed to change every time she moved. First blue, then green, then a lovely amber. Her grey dress seemed modern, classy, and understated all at once. She had no makeup but looked perfect without it.

"Hello!" she sang. Her voice wasn't too sugary, but not very monotone either. "My name is Aphrodite Love! And yes, that is my last name. I will be your fashion advisor. We have a lot of choices to make!" She finished her sentence with a giggle. Normally I hated giggles, but this wasn't too bad. How did she do that?

I awkwardly smiled at her, which she took as an invitation to sit down across from me. Her toned arms were carrying a pink-dyed leather briefcase, which she opened and set upon the table. It was filled with manila folders, each withholding dozens of papers.

Aphrodite pulled out two folders and took the papers inside. She set the papers on the table and then filed them out into a half circle with one manicured hand. Now I could see the pages. There must have been nearly fifty. I could only see about a fourth of each page because they were overlapping.

"Dearie, please pay attention to me," said Aphrodite. I realized that I had been staring at the papers longer than comfortable, wondering what was written on them. Aphrodite continued. "We don't have much time, but we need to get through all of this. Otherwise, it could be disastrous!" She presented a bright laugh and then jumped back into the business. "These papers have the best designs of clothing for your body type. We had the maids check your sizes when they were packing your bags. And judging from what you are wearing right now-" (I was wearing a brown t-shirt and blue jeans that I had bought recently) "-I would say you have the right sizes."

I nodded and tried to engage in the conversation. "So what does that mean?" I tried to look her in the eyes, but it felt awkward. Instead, I looked down at the papers.

Aphrodite seemed delighted that I had asked. "It means that we get to choose some outfits for you now!" She looked extremely happy to have this task, so I tried to have a good attitude too.

According to Aphrodite, I was arriving at the palace early to receive extra instruction. But I wasn't supposed to have an advantage above the other girls. That meant that I wouldn't be allowed to have my makeover or see the prince early. But they also didn't want me to be too gorgeous if an accident happened and the prince happened to spot me. So for my first few days at the palace, I would be wearing the uniform of the Selected: A white top and black pants.

But Aphrodite didn't ignore the specifics, despite my protests. She wanted me to choose an exact style of outfit. It took far longer than it should have, but we eventually settled on a high neck shirt with bell sleeves, loose capri pants, and espadrille flats. I decided to go without accessories, I wouldn't need them in the first few days.

Then it came to the dangerous decision- what to wear when I met the prince. Aphrodite offered me a lot of options on colors. I could go with the colors of Illéa, yellow and red. Or Green, to match the Prince's eyes. Blue- his favorite color, or grey- mine. I could also go with a color that went with my skin tone. There were a lot of those, though. Pastel pinks, light blues, browns, beiges, pale greens, purples, and red. I ruled out pink before anything though.

That left me with a lot of options. I finally finished though, and Aphrodite sketched out a model of the dress we had created. I nodded, and she tucked the model into an envelope and set it in her pink briefcase. We moved on to my general outfit ideas.

Aphrodite seemed to be pushing me into the idea of trying to be seductive, but that wasn't me. It wasn't my game either- there would be Twos there with much more experience in that regard. So I vetoed most of the strapless, v-neck, plunging, and spaghetti strapped necklines in hope for something more modest. We decided that the best necklines would be crew neck, high neck, jewel neckline, and boat neckline.

I wanted a classier look- maybe I would have a chance if I looked smart and professional, as opposed to ridiculous. that heavily affected my decisions for the styles of dresses. I would be wearing A-Lines, Sheaths, Strapless's, One Shoulder on occasion, Wrap dresses, Shirtdresses, and Maxis.

As for sleeves, I went with mostly short-sleeved, bell sleeved, trumpet sleeved, and a weird type of sleeve named "Choirboy." And for waistlines, I would do normal, asymmetrical, basque, and nothing. And for shoes, I would be wearing only ballerina flats and kitten heels. I was quite impressed with myself for learning so many new words- I had no idea that fashion was this complicated.

My father always said this expression: "time flies when you're having fun." Strangely enough, it was quite enjoyable to choose so many things. I felt in control, and that was a feeling I'd always enjoyed. In no less than two hours, we had picked out everything I would need for my wardrobe during my stay. Of course, these were loose parameters. If I felt like wearing something bold, my maids could make me extra dresses.

Aphrodite left the cabin, and I sat there wondering what I would look like in those luxurious gowns. This still felt like a dream- I pinched myself, wondering if would wake up.

Just as I did so, the door swung open again. Another woman came in. There was also a man trailing behind her.

The woman was definitely older than Aphrodite, but her skin was extremely pure. She had short, chocolate hair, and blue eyes. She wasn't very tanned, but not pale either- a perfect combination. the one thing weird about her was her cheek- there were two marks on her left cheek that looked like the scar of a snake bite.

She strode forward and sat down without invitation. The man scurried behind her and sat down beside her. She opened her mouth to speak, and her voice was lower than normal for a woman. "You're Annabeth Chase," she said. It was a statement, not a question. "I am Hygieia. I work as a dermatologist, and a hair and skin care specialist."

I nodded to acknowledge her statement, and she continued in a sufferingly slow tone. "I will be working with you to figure out if the normal makeover products will work for you. Last time, a girl got her makeover on the first day. The products inflamed her skin, so she wasn't able to meet the prince until a week later when the swelling had gone down. We didn't want that to happen again this year, hence why I am here."

It was interesting how deep things were. On television, you just saw the smiling ladies and the prince. You would see before and after photos. But now that I was in the Selection, a veil had been lifted. I got to see the insides of the show, how things really were. It was fascinating.

Hygieia's visit was quick, a strange contrast to the speed of her talking. I could swear that she just wanted to get out of the room. Honestly? I did too.

She had her assistant give me some paperwork on allergies, of which I (luckily) had none. Then she tried rubbing a few different creams onto my hand. One of them caused my skin to get extremely crusty and dry a few minutes later, so she wrote down which one had done so and tried an alternative. The other option worked, and then we were done with skin.

Next, she worked on my hair. Her assistant passed her a comb, and she went through it hastily. I tried not to wince as she went through some tangles and knots. When she was done with that, she prescribed me some anti-tangles hairspray, and some light gel to keep things in place while still looking natural. I tried not to be offended because I knew that my hair was impossible most of the time. It was extremely thick and frizzy, and hard to deal with too. But it turned out that my hair was healthy, and so she didn't decide to give me any medicines for regrowth.

Hygieia finished her work and packed up, seemingly racing out of the room with her assistant at her heels. I decided to just roll with it. By now, I had been on the train for two and a half hours. I had no idea how far away the palace was, or how many people would be coming to see me. I stared out the window at the many fields and homes we passed. We had also stopped a few times by now.

About five minutes later, another guest came into the first class car. He was officially looking- his uniform was one that I recognized. He was a palace guard. His red uniform had golden ropes and medals hanging everywhere, and he carried himself with confidence.

He stuck out a hand at me, and said "Hi- sorry, hello Miss Chase. My name is Luke- Luke Castellan" he had obviously forgotten to be formal the first time around, and I found myself grinning and taking his hand. He was the first visit so far to offer any physical contact unless brushing hair would count.

Luke sat down, and I let my hands drop to my lap. He continued to speak. "Miss Wordsworth and Sir Delphinus got off at the last stop, just so you know. I will be driving you to the palace, and going over safety measures in the few minutes we have."

I smiled, and said "Well, that's good to hear. How much time do we have until the train gets to our stop?" I was staring out of the window, and I could see a city off in the distance. That was no doubt our destination, but it was far off. Then again, the train was going very fast.

Luke gave an awkward facial expression, one that was indescribable and hilarious. I laughed, until he cut me off by answering my question. "We have about ten minutes, give or take a few seconds. We had better get started now." There was playfulness in his voice, but also seriousness. I got the feeling that he was a lad of many emotional layers.

I nodded for him to continue, and he did by saying "Normally I meet with the Selected's family, and we go over security measures. You know of the rebels?" (I nodded yes.) "Then you know that they are capable of attacking at any time. And the Selected or their family would be a target hard to resist. So we have to protect your home. Guards will be supplied- all of them from the palace, to ensure maximum safety."

"There would be no use for you to go home until after the Selection is over. Therefore, you don't have to know where the guards will be placed, it wouldn't affect anything. The guards will be removed after the Selection is over. That's pretty much it."

There was a burning question hanging in the air by a string, and I had to ask it. 'Wouldn't I need to know if I was to leave early? After all, I only have a one in thirty five chance."

He tilted his head. "Meh- maybe more than that. But the point is, there's actually not a high chance that you will go back after the Selection. You are of age, now would be as good of a time as any to get kicked out of the house and find a good employment. And most of the ladies from the Selection last time were married off after they were kicked out by wealthy Twos and Threes."

I stared at him with daggers. "I am employed. I don't make enough money to get myself an apartment."

"Well, not for long." I stared at him, not knowing what he meant by that. "Wait- did nobody tell you about the caste change?" asked the guard. This intrigued me, and I listened in. "All Selected women go to the caste of Three if they were below that before, because it's difficult for them to transition from luxury to dirt. You included. You're a Three now, Annabeth."

My throat went dry, even though I had taken a gulp of water only a minute ago. "Wait... you can't be serious. A Three? I am a Three?" Nobody had told me that.

Luke laughed. "Yeah, I know how you feel. I used to be a Four, until I joined the guard. But it's true. Sorry, we need to get back on topic. So anyways..." Just as he said that, the train stopped at our destination. "Well, never mind then."

I laughed again, pleased at how easily I could. There was something about him that just made me want to smile, all day and every day. We strode off of the train together, and walked through the train station whilst in a pleasant conversation. When we got out of the station, I helped to find the car parked two blocks away. There was no driver, so Luke took the wheel and I sat shotgun.

As we drove, Luke explained to me the complexities of safety in the castle. If what he was saying was true, there were safe rooms all over the castle. I learned about where most of the main ones were, just in case I was in a main room when a rebel attack occurred.

We were driving on a beautiful road with smooth pavement, lined with hedges and flowers on both sides. The hedges were apparently hiding massive castle walls, which I noticed when we took a turn. There was a massive gatehouse, and a black metal gate attached to the pale yellow stucco walls. As we turned, the gates swung open. I got my first view of the palace.

I was here, and I planned to stay in that palace for quite awhile. Luke drove the car on a gravel road when the pavement ended, and we parked. He rushed to open the door for me and helped me out of the car by offering a hand. The gravel driveway circled around a fountain, and led to the massive mahogany doors in the front.

Luke walked me to the elegant entrance, and guards clad in the same uniform as he had opened the doors for us. I was led through the doors, into the palace.

I failed to notice a dark haired royal staring at me from a balcony above my head.

 **Woah- that was more than 4,000 words! I decided to give you guys an extra-long chapter to make up for that two and a half week wait. Sorry for that! If there are any typos in this chapter, let me know. I was using a different computer to write this, and I wasn't very accustomed to the keyboard. Nevertheless, I got it written.**

 **Luke is here! What do ya'll think about Lukabeth? *Mentally prepares for the flaming Percabeth shippers that are about to review and yell at me for even mentioning that ship*. But seriously, I have a plan for Luke. I suppose you will have to wait and see to figure it out.**

 **Annabeth is at the castle early, and is trying to avoid Percy. How will that work out- I guess you will just have to theorize on that. Any predictions can be reviewed too, but I may or may not actually answer them- MUAHAHA.**

 **Okie, this author's note is already long enough. Adios!**

 **-Meistar**


	9. Chairs and Contact

**Hello peoples!** **Just to start, I'm trying to get as much writing done as possible. Sorry that this chapter is shorter than the last. If you have any requests on lengths of chapters, LET ME KNOW.**

 **I have decided to stop taking up so much space by answering reviews. Instead, I am now going to just answer questions. Thanks to everyone that reviewed, followed, favorited, and PM'ed. Here are some things from the reviews I wanted to clear up:** **How did I learn so much about clothing words? I looked it up and clicked images. Good visuals and names. Also, to the person that asked "WHY THE HECK IS LUKE HERE WHY WHY WHY" well, I have my reasons. And Penny (guest): Accidentally meeting each other, you say? I think you predicted the future. Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the Selection. Yay.**

Percy's POV:

"Dad? Dad. Dad!" I called out. My father still failed to answer me. He looked regal today, clad in a red cloak and with the jeweled crown of a king upon his head. I had tried it on once, as a dare from my sister Estelle. It had fallen off of my head, which had been tiny at the time. But now it sat upon his head, and I wondered if it would fit me. But that wasn't the point, and I needed to concentrate on my current task of annoying him into answering me.

He continued to ignore me as I badgered him with words, like "Earth to the king," and "Hellooooooooo? Are you there?" Eventually, he snapped, whirled around, and grabbed my wrist before I could get the chance to tap his shoulder again. I froze and stayed silent. His expression was fierce, and I didn't want to be in front of it.

 _"Quiet down!"_ he whispered-hissed. _"You may think everything is a joke nowadays, but it certainly is not. We are in_ _public_ _, Perseus. It is not the time to get my attention."_ Then he turned again, loosened his grip on my arm, and presented a smile to the advisor he was speaking to. They continued to chit-chat for a while, and I realized I wasn't wanted. So instead of following him like a lost chihuahua, I went to seek out my mother.

And there she was. Sometimes I wondered if she could teleport since she was always in the right place at the right time. My mother strode up to me and offered me her arm with grace. I took it, and she subtly led me out of the hallway. We reached her office, which was in between two other offices- mine and my father's.

My mother's office was very cluttered. She was very sentimental and didn't like to get rid of anything. Souvenirs, old children's drawings, even an abandoned sock were crowded onto the top of her filing cabinet. Her desk was completely covered with papers and folders. I shifted a mass of architectural drawings as I sat down on the bench, and she took a seat in her chair.

Sally reached across the desk and held my hands to hers. She looked into my eyes before speaking, somehow making me feel extremely confident. "Percy, you have to understand your father's ways. He is very busy these days, and that type of pestering simply annoys him. It doesn't do any good for either of you."

I wanted to yell at her my reasons for doing so, but she squeezed my hands and the anger leeched out of me. She did that- my mother's influence was magical. Her soft voice continued to go on. "I have something to tell you. Would you like to hear it? It is of a somewhat serious matter."

There, I gave a quick nod. She smiled, seemingly happy to continue. "Dear, you know of Annabeth Chase- the girl who was Selected from this Province. She arrived at the palace today because she was late to be chosen. I have a favor to ask of you, regarding her."

I was mystified- what would she want? Still, I shook my head yes. "What is it?" I asked. "I'm sure it couldn't be that hard. Go on, tell me."

"You have to stay away from her," she said. " And far away. No contact at all."

I blinked. What in the world could that mean? Well, it was obvious- but why? And that was what I said, too- in different words. "Well, why? I haven't even seen her." (This was, of course, a lie). And I could swear that she saw straight through me.

Yes, she did. I saw her give me _that_ smile, the one where you internally say "Oh. She's on to me." My mother simply looked me in the eyes, and I found myself saying "Oh, come on! That was a quick glance to... see if her picture was accurate! Yeah, erm- that's totally why I did it!"

"Percy, the pictures are always accurate. And while I am slightly annoyed by your blunder on the rules, you technically didn't know them at the time. I will forgive you today, but not if it happens again. Now, let me tell you why you can't meet her," she responded. I found my face reddening- "parent shame" was the worst card they could play.

"You aren't allowed to see her because she isn't allowed to have an advantage. Like it or not, she is supposed to be the same as all the others. Besides, we can't have you make any snap judgments. When girls come to the Selection, it isn't only a place of romance. It's also a place of _growth._ The women that come here will learn and shape themselves to the role they would have to fulfill as queen. that changes a girl a lot- just as it changed me. Annabeth will change too."

I knew she was right- but "rules were made to be broken." Unfortunately, I followed that quote to the letter. It didn't work out that well.

LATER:

The palace library was gorgeous. Bookshelves were placed in rows upon rows, columns held up the painted ceiling, and a gigantic, golden, detailed spiral staircase was placed in the center of the room. The actual library was three floors- taking up room on each level of the palace. The first floor contained most history, the second had fantasy genres, and the third had restricted reading. There must have been thousands of books in that library.

Of course, she was there. Why wouldn't she be? I was on orders to avoid Annabeth Chase- but I was also on orders from my Latin tutor to grab a book. And I received much more motivation to get that _liber_ **(text)** when I realized Miss Chase would be in the library.

Annabeth was sitting at one of the many tables when I entered the room, her nose buried in a history book. She was about halfway through it, and it must have been at least six hundred pages. Either the font size was large, or she was an amazing reader. And since I knew the former was impossible for a history book, she had to be intelligent.

I went to retrieve my book when I noticed something. The shelf I needed was extremely close to her spot. There would be no way for me to get past her without alerting her to my presence. I decided to just get it over with, so I crept in front of her.

She noticed me immediately. Her eyes snapped up and widened considerably. She stood up clumsily from her chair, which fell backward. Unfortunately, this caused her to fall down too.

The crashing noise and her loud yell in response to falling down were too loud for my taste. If my father realized I had met her already, I would be up for a long lecture. But I couldn't just leave now- that wouldn't be very gentlemanly. Instead, I crossed around the table with haste and offered her a hand to stand up.

She took it, and quietly whispered "thanks." Then she knelt down to pick her book, which had fallen on the floor. She also propped up the old wooden chair but quickly noticed it was broken. There was a long crack down the back of it. She winced, and whispered "Oh goodness! I'm so sorry about that. What should I do about that chair?"

I glanced around, seeing no other people here besides the librarian. No aides, no guards- where were they? I decided to deal with the cracked furniture myself. "I can take that. You can sit right there, and a guard will be posted in the library to care for any other needs you could have." I said.

There was a silence, and then a loud shushing noise came from the desk. The librarian there was glaring at me, with a finger to her lips. My face must have been very red at that point.

Annabeth turned pink too, no doubt embarrassed to be in this situation. She whispered back to me, "Your majesty, there was a guard here just a few minutes ago. The captain of the guard- Luke Castellan- has been helping me get to know the castle. He excused himself just a few minutes ago to go to the bathroom."

I nodded. The moment seemed to be getting more awkward by the minute. "Alright then, I should probably leave you alone. I do have a request, though." My voice had significantly dropped in volume. "Don't mention this little interaction to anyone, please. I am not supposed to get to know anyone yet."

She nodded rapidly, then said "Of course. I suppose I will see you in a few days." Then she moved herself to the opposite side of the table, where a line of undamaged chairs was waiting. She opened her book once again and seemed to wander into another world, losing sight of me.

I picked up the cracked chair, but there was no good way to carry it. I decided to just carry it on one side, under my left arm. It was quite uncomfortable to carry such a large object, usually, I left this type of work to aides and guards. I managed to carry it out of the doorway. When I turned, I saw Annabeth with a shimmer of a smile on her face.

The strange moment didn't last. I awkwardly carried the chair down the hallway, and many people stared at me. From the crowds of people, a certain girl emerged. My sister, Estelle.

Estelle was never very princess-like. She was courageous and wise, but it wasn't easy to see that side of her unless she opened up to you. Others thought of her as a child. She was certainly immature most of the time, or overly friendly. Still, she was my best friend 100% of the time.

Estelle joined me in the hallway, which caused even more people to stare. When we finally reached a fewer-populated corridor, she turned around to talk and started walking backward so that she could face me. "Percy. Wasn't that a _romantic_ moment? Yes, I saw it all. No, I wasn't spying. Okay, I kind of was. But why do you care?" She continued to ramble on and on. Her brown hairs' curls bounced up and down as she strode backward.

I finally interrupted her chatter. "You saw that?" I was annoyed at that, it was slightly personal. Also, embarrassing.

"Yeah, I saw that _whole_ interaction. It was hilarious, by the way. And yes, I will use it for blackmail. Anyways, where are you even going with that chair?" she asked. I realized just then that I was going my default route- back to my room. I then realized that I had no idea what to do with the chair.

Estelle could read thoughts just as well as my mother. "You should probably just give that to a guard." I followed her advice and handed it to the nearest man in uniform that I could find. He immediately headed the opposite direction with it, leaving Estelle and me alone.

She instantly stopped walking, and whispered "So, what do you think of her? Tell me _everything._ " She seemed genuinely interested in this gossip, which confused me. Still, I did my best to answer.

"She seems... nice," I said. Estelle gave me the evil eye, so I attempted to continue. "Very smart, because she spent a lot of time in the library. Informed, because she kept an eye on her surroundings. And classy, because her clothing was. And she also seems modest, but I'm not sure about that. Maybe she was just embarrassed by me."

Estelle nodded appreciatively and said "It was definitely the latter. Everyone is embarrassed by you. Even me and I'm your sister."

I grinned at her annoying attempt to get to me. "Well, you embarrass me by not being formal. Look at us, embarrassing each other forever." I tried to sound dreamy and hypnotic for the last sentence, but I probably failed due to her snickering at my accents.

At that moment, I realized something. "Oh no- I never got my book from the library!" It was true, I had forgotten about it. I had been too preoccupied with the chair, and Annabeth.

She grinned at my forgetfulness. "Great job, Percy." The sarcasm was layered on her voice. "But I can go get it. Which book do you need?" She started playing with her dress, which had a frilly sleeve. She pulled a few strings out of the sleeve, and I winced. Her maids deserved raises.

Right now, though, I wanted a maid to go get a book for me. And the closest human being was my sister. I didn't want to admit it, but I did need that book for my Latin tutor. I answered glumly "I need the book: _Latin for Beginners._ You can get it, right?"

She chortled loudly. " _Latin for Beginners_? You've been learning Latin for years. You're not a beginner. Do you really fail at Latin that much? That's hilarious! _Latin for Beginners_ \- Ha!" She laughed and laughed- until I couldn't deal with the teasing anymore.

"Just go get the book, Estelle. Please." I pleaded.

She finally stopped. "Okay, fine," she said. Estelle left the hallway, looking as if I had jumped on her hopes and dreams and stomped them into a puddle. Just as I started to feel guilty, her head popped right back up and a grin appeared on her face. She raced off towards the library and left me to my thoughts.

And those thoughts were only of a certain blonde and a certain spark that seemed to have formed.

 **So I am sure a lot of people will mention this, so I have cleared it up. Georgina and Estelle's ages. Georgina was included because I didn't want any goddesses in the Selection, I have seen that done before and it is too predictable. ALL OF THE SELECTED LADIES ARE MORTAL, LEGACY, OR DEMIGOD. I ran out of names, so I included her because she will not be a major character. (Or will she- you will have to see). Anyways, About Estelle. I know that she should be extremely young, and the child of Paul. But I have a plan for Estelle, and it requires her to be 16. Yes, you heard that right. Estelle and Georgina are actually both 16.**

 **Luke is helping Annabeth find her way around the palace! Will that affect things at all? Also, Percy seems desperate to run into Annabeth. And Percy's father seems very grouchy.**

 **Please review, and I will see you next chapter. Also: I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE QUESTIONS AND TYPO FIXES. Thanks, bye peoples!**

 **-Meistar**


	10. Reprimands and Representations

**Hello peoples!**

 **First off, thank you for all of the reviews for the last chapter. Also, my thanks for all of the favorites, follows, and Private Messages. Now, some answers to reviews:**

 **Livvie May: "LUKE HECK OFF." LOL, that actually made me laugh aloud. It's just an innocent tour of the palace, Livvie! What are you so worked up about? *Presents evil smile*. Also, shoutout to Athenachild101- You are an amazing reviewer, thank you so much for that idea.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or The Selection. On with the chapter!**

"So Annabeth, where shall we go next?" asked Luke in an overly-dramatic voice. I laughed, then began to ponder. I wasn't allowed to go up to the third floor, nor to most of the bedrooms- for obvious reasons. But Luke had given me a tour of all of the hallways and most of the rooms on the base floor.

The only question was where to go next.

The palace seemed to never end. It was like one of those corn mazes that you could get lost in, only with plush, red carpets and spiral staircases and thick walls you could hide inside. Every turn seemed to make things more complicated, and my mental map of the place only included a few of the rooms Luke had shown me.

We were walking now, beside each other. People seemed to clear a path for the head of the Guard. People were definitely staring at him and me, and even whispering without much subtlety. I wanted to go to the Art Gallery, but Luke wanted to show me the Photography Room. We decided to flip a coin on it.

The coin was supplied by Luke. He had a big silver quarter in one of his many pockets. He flipped the coin into the air, and it spun up before descending towards the ground. I caught it out off the air on my wrist and flipped it over onto my other wrist. Luke stared at me, his mouth agape.

"How did you do that?" he asked. He was staring now at the coin, which had landed on the obverse side and was now placed on my wrist. I was holding my wrist at a perfect 180-degree angle so that the coin would stay in place.

It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about. "Oh, that? My family has been made up of only dancers for four generations. I am naturally flexible and pretty good at dancing too," I said. I was pleased that he had noticed, it was quite flattering. Unfortunately-

"-It landed on heads!" grinned Luke. "Off to the Photography Room we go!" He picked up the coin on my wrist by flicking it off and trying to catch it. Unfortunately, he failed by a wide margin. He grinned awkwardly and picked it off of the ground and into his pocket. Then he grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the Photography Room.

As we speed-walked, he released my arm and turned around to talk with me. He was now rapidly moving backward, and everybody was staring. "So the Photography Room has many uses. It is used for photos. You will probably do a lot of posing in pretty dresses when the Selection starts, and that would be in there. It's also a music room. You can play music in the Women's Room, but I can't show you that because I'm not allowed in there. And there are portraits of the royal family or their guests done there too."

I nodded. "Thanks. So it's basically a multi-purpose room?" I asked. Luke laughed on cue, and then stopped so that I could continue. He was still walking backward, and his stamina seemed unaffected. I continued. "So what are we going to do once we get there?" I figured that he would have an activity planned. He had been assigned to keep me occupied and away from the Prince, and every room we had walked into this entire day had had something to do inside."

Luke smiled brightly and answered my question. "I suppose that will be up to you to see. And here we are!" He pointed to a set of double doors, saying "The room, m'lady," in a ridiculously thick and fake accent.

I rolled my eyes and waltzed into the room with grace. The guard opened the door without question, training his eyes on the wall in front of him. I could get used to this luxury. If I went home, I would hire a guard to open doors for me. I didn't know why I enjoyed it so much, it was only a small burden. But it was so convenient.

The photography room was huge. It had a high ceiling that made the space seem even larger. An entire wall was devoted to portraits that I could guess were portraits of the royal family the past few generations. I spotted a portrait of Percy, who was wearing a ridiculous red cape. I nearly laughed, but then my gaze got caught up in other things.

A section of the room was devoted to photography. There were huge cameras and even a computer. A huge white screen was set up against a wall as a backdrop, and three assistants were testing the machinery spread throughout the room. There was also a large sectional in the closest corner, surrounded by about a dozen painting easels. I would guess that people would sit there to be painted.

Just as I was about to ask Luke about the machinery and how it worked, the door we had just walked through opened again. A guard with an unmovable expression marched in and made eye contact with Luke. He didn't look happy at all. The smile vanished from Luke's face.

Luke moved up to the guard. They began speaking. Their interaction was loud and furious-sounding. The guard said something along the lines of "The king would like to see you. It is urgent."

Luke glared. I could tell that he didn't like this individual, and I didn't understand why. Was it a rivalry? "Tell him that I'm unable to do so at this time," he said. "I have a duty to keep my subject safe, occupied, and away. I have been ordered by the king to do so." He was talking about me. I didn't like how he was, though.

"Sir, the King is now ordering you to do this. I can arrange another guard to keep track of Miss Chase while you are gone. I would advise you not to keep his Majesty waiting too long, he is quite angry right now," said the other guard.

All of the colors drained from Luke's face. He gave a nod and then turned to me. "Annabeth, I have to leave for a moment. Those attendants over there are painters. Ask one of them to do a portrait of you while you're gone, that should pass the time. You'd be amazed at what they can complete in a few minutes. I'll be back soon."

I followed his instructions and Luke left the room. The other guard fixated his gaze on me, narrowing his eyes. Then he left the room behind his superior, leaving me to wonder what was happening.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Percy's POV:

"Perseus! I need to see you for a moment," called out my father. He looked extremely stressed, there were bags under his eyes. And yet, he still looked just as commanding as ever. He also looked mad, and I wondered what I had done this time. Because every time he wanted my attention, it was either my birthday, or I'd done something wrong.

I quickly rose from my seat in my own office and walked down the hallway to his. All of the Royal Offices were in the same corridor, so it was only a short stroll. I took a seat on the bench in front of his desk. He was sorting through papers and didn't set them down nor look up when he began to speak. "Perseus, you met Annabeth Chase."

I knew the secret would get out eventually, but I didn't know that it would happen yet. I felt the need to object, so I did. "No Sir. What are you talking about?" I objected.

He set a glare on me, and I immediately regretted my words. I shouldn't have lied.

"Son, I am ashamed of you right now. You met Annabeth Chase. I instructed you not to." (No, he didn't. My mother did). "Listen to me!" he yelled. I realized that I was looking down. I looked up then, trying to avoid sinking to the ground in a puddle of shame.

"Perseus," said my father again. His voice was laced with venom that I had heard before. "I have been considering the use of Estelle. She is sixteen now."

Now I wanted to yell at him, but I couldn't. Still, I had to whisper "You wouldn't. Please." Like it would change anything.

"She will be married soon, Perseus. And I see no reason not to marry her to Prince Antoine Bescond. He will be the monarch of France soon, and we don't have any allies there yet. He has a long line of potential female suitors, but she would be of the most use to him," reasoned my father. Only it wasn't reasonable, it was madness.

This couldn't be happening. Estelle was too dear to me. So I pleaded with him. "Father... you cannot marry off Estelle," I said. "You just can't."

"And why the hell not?" asked my father. He was angry again, but so was I. I wouldn't allow him to marry off my only friend. Still, he remained persistent and steady with his flow of words. "She seems to only be making you reckless. You've been exceptionally careless recently, and it is her influence. Otherwise, you wouldn't have lied to me, and you wouldn't have met with Annabeth Chase."

There was no way to combat his words, unless... "Father, marry off Estelle after the Selection. The public already has enough to fill the news channels, and Antoine Bescond will be crowned monarch in two years. There is plenty of time to save. Besides, we would need to give Estelle lessons so that she could manage things there. It would work much better to wait."

My father pondered my argument, and then he agreed. "We will marry her off later, but only if you are completely honest and obedient for the entirety of the Selection. You are dismissed."

"Yes sir," I said. I left the room. There was only one way I could keep my sister here and keep her unmarried. I would be the definition of perfection for the entire Selection. It was all I could do.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Luke's POV (Yay! A new one):

I passed Prince Perseus in the hallway, and he mumbled a "Hello." Then he took a turn, heading for his office. I continued down the corridor and found myself in the King's office. I decided to remain standing. The king was sitting in an office chair. I straightened my back, my posture becoming impeccable.

"Luke Castellan. You are the captain of the guard," began the king. I could sense a rant about to happen. "I read up on your file today. You've been in the guard for four years, joined when you were sixteen. You have excelled since you arrived, received excellent marks. You became Head of the Guard six months ago when the original commander died and a position opened."

"Your recommendation note was filled with compliments and pros. I have seen nothing from you but exemplary work. So I was _quite_ surprised when I heard of your blunder yesterday."

"You left Annabeth Chase alone in the library for a bathroom break, correct?" he asked. I nodded to confirm his inquiries. "And during that time, my son Perseus accidentally stumbled into each other." Wait- when did that happen? Annabeth didn't mention that. The king continued. "You were not aware of this, which is a problem. As you know, Annabeth Chase is not permitted to meet my son until the Selection begins."

I inclined my head down, then up again. "Well, she did. And the Press got wind of this. They've pretty much alerted the entire goddamn country by now. They even held a public survey, and apparently, 94% of the country is angry about it because they believe it is an unfair advantage. It is a serious problem!" I gritted my teeth.

I felt the need to interrupt his rant. "Sir, it was a bathroom break. It only lasted for a few moments, in which they accidentally met each other. The interaction must've lasted for only a few seconds. It was a tiny flaw-"

The King glared at me, and I stopped talking. I shouldn't have interrupted. "Luke Castellan, may I tell you what else is as tiny as your 'flaw?' A bullet is rather small, yes? But if one rebel got into the palace, Annabeth Chase would be dead. I trusted you with that job because I thought that you would've at least placed another guard in your place while you left."

"Apparently not. While I do understand that this was a tiny mistake, it has caused a shockwave of reactions. I assume that you have developed a friendship with Miss Chase. I am sure that you would hate it if she was sent home, wouldn't you?"

I nodded and straightened up even more if it was possible. "Then I trust that you will clear up this accident. I am sending you to the Province of Paloma. There you will stay. Give the Selected lady there the information she needs on her family's safety. We normally send a normal palace guard to update the Selected's families on their new safety protocols, but I am sending you instead. I believe you need a break from the palace. I will be putting a note on your record. The Selected woman there is named Thalia Grace. Escort her on her trip to the palace when the Selection begins in two days."

It wasn't a bad punishment, I was actually quite alright with it. But I hated to leave Annabeth. Still, I simply said "Thank you for informing me, Sir. I will leave at once."

Before I could leave, I heard his voice call out "Castellan, be sure to inform Miss Chase that she will be receiving a new guard. How about Charles Beckendorf? He has been doing well. Yes, send him. Thank you."

 **Luke's POV was introduced, and Beckendorf is being introduced! Percy has to be good, or his sister will be married off! The Selection begins in two days! SO MANY EXCLAMATION MARKS!**

 **How was this chapter? I've been writing them at about 2,500 words+. Please review if possible. See ya'll later!**

 **-Meistar**


	11. Improvements and Insurgents

**Hello peoples! I have decided to make chapters longer, but I will try to not change the update times. Thanks for the favorites and follows! Now for some responses to reviews: Athenachild101, the father is Poseidon. And he is acting like Gabe because of obvious stress, and also because he reflects the state of his kingdom in the books, and I decided that that was a good trait to keep. Tyozzie123: Did Estelle sell them out? I suppose you will have to wait and see. And ImpactStory: Thanks for those comments, they actually help a lot. I will make the chapters longer. Is around 3000-4000 good?**

Percy's POV:

"Sir, can you stand for me?" asked the tailor. He was getting my precise measurements because I apparently needed yet another suit for meeting the Selected ladies. I supposed that none of the dozen suits I had were nice enough. I honestly didn't trust this tailor. His fashion seemed... questionable. Mainly because of the large purple feather in his hat.

I mean, would you trust a dentist if they had moldy teeth? Exactly my point. But I cooperated just for the sake of time as the strange outfitter buzzed around me with a tape measure. He first measured my sleeves, shoulders, chest, and waist. Then he wrote these down on a purple clipboard that matched his hat's feather.

Currently, I was wearing a jacket, trousers, and a waistcoat. They all seemed to fit perfectly to me, but not according to my father. He spent every chance he got to get me a new suit, and I often only wore each one a few times. The clothier sat down, finished with his measurements.

He kept glancing up at me and seemed to be writing down my dimensions and body type. It was annoying to me. I had gotten a suit fitted only two weeks ago, why couldn't they use those measurements? Luckily, I was saved from further measuring by a knock on the door.

The tailor seemed to understand that his time was up. He darted up from the chair and out of the room as the door opened. I cracked a smile at my visitor.

"Jason! How are you? It's been too long," I exclaimed. My blonde friend grinned back at me, looking me up and down. Finally:

"Another suit, huh?" he asked, before laughing loudly. This was most definitely the Jason I remembered from two months ago, the last time I had seen him.

I nodded once the laughing subsided. "Yup, another. This one is for when I first meet the Selected." The noise level suddenly went down. "Sorry, awkward subject," I said, trying to bring back the conversation. But Jason actually seemed quite eager to get the dirt on this topic.

"So, are you excited about it? Dreading meeting them? It can't be _that_ bad, Perce," he said.

"Honestly? I'm just trying not to think about it," I responded. "Maybe if I do that, they won't actually show up. It's nerve-racking, knowing that one of them would be my wife. My companion for the rest of my life. But I guess I can't really tell you what it's like. The Selection hasn't even started yet."

"Yeah... about that. Haven't you seen the paper today? Your father made some... arrangements last night, to soothe the rioters in the Province of Belcourt. I am very surprised that you haven't heard yet," said Jason. He saw the look in my eyes and knew to continue. "Perce, everybody was freaking out because they heard that you met Miss Chase, the Selected that is already here. I'm sure you knew that."

I nodded. He kept talking. "Well, your father didn't want you to meet Annabeth again. So he moved the date of the Selection up."

My eyes went wide. "Goddamn it." I didn't want to know the date, but I did at the same time. "When is it?"

Jason sat in the chair at my desk. The silence was killing me. He finally said "It's today. Every Selected is on their way here at this very moment. You'll meet them tomorrow, instead of three days from now."

I loudly exclaimed some colorful words, and Jason tilted his head in an "I'm-sorry" expression. Then I finally gathered my wits an announced: "Well, now would be a good time to learn their names, right?"

Jason raised his eyebrows, mocking shock. "You mean you haven't learned any names yet? Oh gods, Percy. Sometimes you can be so..." his voice trailed off, and I changed my mind. He wasn't mocking shock, he was actually ashamed of my forgetfulness. "Well, we should get started," he proclaimed.

"We?" I asked. I assumed that he had something better to do. But he shook his head.

"Yep, we. I will help you with those names if it's the last thing I do!" he exclaimed theatrically, and I stifled a loud laugh in favor of a light chuckle. "It's been too long, Perce," he said.

I smiled at Jason. My friend, my comrade. The Helper. "It really has. It's great to see you again, Jase."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Annabeth's POV:

Of course, I had heard the news, but it didn't affect anything except my stress. I was pacing in my room when the door opened, and I stopped like a duck who had realized the road they were crossing was a highway. The guard Beckendorf was being a dear and leaving me to my stress by standing outside.

Back to the point. The door opened, and a gorgeous yet recognizable woman walked in. Long, curled, brown hair, and eyes that shimmered into different colors. The aide I had met on the train, Aphrodite.

She didn't have the grey dress this time, though. Instead, it was replaced with a gorgeous plum-colored gown. The dress didn't have sleeves, and the fabric trailed on the ground behind her as she stepped forward. She also had lavish silver jewelry, including earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet.

All in all, she looked gorgeous. Aphrodite looked me up and down, and seemed to approve of my outfit. A good thing, considering that we had chosen it together only a few days before.

"Oh, hello dearie!" she said in her smooth voice. "I have a question for you. Well actually, two questions. The first is, are you aware that the Selection begins today?"

I nodded, and she clasped her hands, while simultaneously smiling so wide it could've hurt. "Great! I don't have to explain that. My other question is whether or not you would like to receive your makeover early."

I was about to decline because it sounded like special treatment. I opened my mouth, but then realized she wasn't done speaking. She continued. "Annabeth, there will be a lot of girls getting their makeovers today, and there are only twenty stations to do so. Tonight, lines will be long, and it's always this huge ordeal. It would actually help us a lot if you would do it early because then there's less work to do when the other girls arrive!"

Well, it didn't sound bad now. I agreed. She smiled again, and I could see both rows of her teeth. "Wonderful, thank you for agreeing!" And that was how I got an early makeover.

Aphrodite led me to the Vanity Room, which was right next to the Women's Room. Both had been forbidden territories on my tour with Luke. Speaking of guards, Beckendorf was trailing behind me. But he stayed in the hallway instead of entering. I didn't blame him. The moment that the door opened, a wave of air that smelled firmly of perfume wafted into us. It took all of my willpower not to cough.

I attempted to take in the room in all of its magnificence without choking. It was a gorgeous room if you breathed through your nose. There were indeed twenty stations set up around the room. At each station, there was a multitude of things. A salon chair, some floating cabinets on the wall, a full-length mirror, and a bathtub.

I only gathered this information from what I could see, because there were curtains hanging from the ceiling to provide privacy. I could only see into the station that I would be using, which was marked by a glowing sign with the number 1. One of the curtains was pulled back, so I was able to see into the area.

Aphrodite led me over to a couch, instead of straight to the station. She seemed to be in a hurry, even though the Selected hadn't arrived yet. She pointed at the couch and asked me to take a seat, so I did. I did my best to smooth out the wrinkles in my shirt to pass the time. About a minute later, the door opened again. A camera crew bustled in, clearly late. They began taking "Before" pictures, as Aphrodite called them.

I didn't see any of the photos, but they stopped taking them after a while. Then they left, leaving most of their equipment behind. Aphrodite then brought me to "Station One," and said "Annabeth, please take a seat. Your stylists will be here in just a moment, so sit tight. I should be back when they are done."

I followed her instructions and took a seat in the salon chair. There was a clock hanging above the floating vanity, and I noted thirty-two seconds before the stylists arrived.

There were seven stylists, and they rapidly introduced themselves. Della, a gorgeous woman with blonde hair not unlike my own. Dexter, a man with an exquisitely braided mustache. Fredericka, a younger lady with intense blue lipstick. Alex, a man with hair died in at least fourteen different colors. Bella, who had five piercings in each ear. Jonathan, a man who actually looked normal. Helena, an older woman with pink hair, and Zena, whose perfume was incredibly thick.

Dexter began talking to me as the others pulled out the cabinet drawers and selected a wide variety of items, ranging from lipsticks to hand towels. "Miss Chase, we need to talk about your image. We don't have much time, because this early makeover could be seen as a privilege, so we can't take much time. What is your role here? You could be quite seductive with those grey eyes, but we could go for a nerdy-approach as well."

I found myself wondering. I could completely change who I was while I was here. While that possibility was tempting, I found myself wanting to stay myself as well. But this was a chance for me to change, and I thought for what felt like several minutes about what role I wanted to take during my time at the palace.

"Classy," I found myself saying. "I find seduction ridiculous. Classiness and maturity seem like a good way to go." It wasn't against my values, so I was happy with my own decision.

"You heard the girl," said Dexter. He turned around and faced the styling crew. "Mature, has class, not too overkill but not under-kill either. Let's add some light colors, but not too many. Dark colors will be bold and effective, but save those for more serious occasions." He kept announcing things, but I lost interest.

Three of the women took me into another room, where there was a large bath. They washed me because I apparently couldn't do it myself and do a good job. I tried to ignore them and focused on a magazine they had provided. But there was nothing interesting in it, only gossip about the upcoming Selection. Instead, I focused on the many choices I had to make.

Every few minutes, other members of the team would walk in with trays of makeup. They would have me make decisions based on what they had picked out before. I narrowed things down until they had chosen a nice array of makeup and skin-care products that I would be using.

After the scrubbing was complete, they provided me with a towel to dry off. I did so, and then wrapped it around me and returned to the salon chair. There they did my nails, which were painted in a gorgeous silver hue. While two women did my nails, another woman and a man (I had forgotten their names already) started drying off my hair with a hairdryer.

Then I faced a decision. What to do with my hair? At the palace, the climate was warmer than back home. That usually caused my long hair to tangle, and look altogether messy. I didn't know whether or not to cut it short.

In the end, I decided not to. Instead, it was trimmed a teensy bit shorter, but the difference wasn't that noticeable. They curled my hair, but it looked natural. The crew also heard about my hair getting tangled, and prescribed an anti-tangle hairspray that I would apply in the mornings and evenings.

They chose a gown for me. It was gorgeous and a bold color, a deep purple. It felt like how a cloud should feel, soft and silky. It was long and went past my feet on the ground. It had no sleeves, but that made it look elegant. They paired it with a silver tiara that matched my nails.

The team slimmed down my eyebrows and told me which lipsticks I should and shouldn't use, and then finished their work. They took a few minutes to clean up all of their materials and left the spa looking exactly as it had before. I sat on the couch again and the photographers came back. They got the "After" shot and moved on. I waited there for Aphrodite.

Tick, tock. The clock above the floating cabinets was creating an annoying and repetitive noise, which I hadn't noticed before. Aphrodite didn't show up.

And then I heard it. A loud, high pitched scream. And gunshots. Multiple gunshots. In the movies, you can tell where the shots are coming from. In real life? Definitely not. It was too loud to pinpoint the location... Was this just me? It was real. What was happening?

Another gunshot. Some loud yelling, and another scream. It was getting closer. That, or getting louder. Aphrodite said to stay put. But I knew enough from my talks with Luke to understand what was happening.

There were rebels in the palace.

A loud shattering of glass on metal could be heard, and some loud laughing. Another scream, then silence for only a moment. Another gunshot broke the quiet. They were advancing. Where was Beckendorf? What was I doing? Where to go? I breathed fast and hard, nearly hyperventilating. Those screams... who was that?

I couldn't leave the room, they could be right outside and there wouldn't be anywhere to go. But there was a door to the grounds in the hallway... no, too risky. They could be outdoors too. But I couldn't stay here. What to do? What should I do?

A sob let itself free from my lips, a piercing, and deadly one. I clamped my hands over my own mouth. I was panicking. What to do, what to do? The sound of another gunshot was interrupted by the closed door to the hallway flying open. I only saw a blur of dark hair, and I knew it was him. _Perseus_. What was he doing here?

Before I could comprehend anything that was happening, he seized me by the wrist. He was sprinting, not slowing his pace for me by a bit. I tore after him as best as I could. He ran to the end of the room, where a large tapestry sat as the vanishing point.

He quickly lifted the tapestry up, revealing a cleverly hidden door in the wall behind it. Without the tapestry there, it would have been hard to see. With it, it was nearly impossible to find.

Perseus still hadn't said a word. He slid open the door and gestured for me to go inside of it. This must have been one of the safe rooms. Luke didn't tell me it was here because we hadn't toured this room. I jumped inside of the hole in the wall, with Perseus at my heels. He put the tapestry back in place and slid the door closed.

There was no light in this room. In fact, it was pitch-black. But I could feel my way around. There was very little space in here. The safe room was probably only about three feet wide. There was also no way to see where the door had been, so I didn't know how we'd get out.

I could still hear gunshots. They seemed even closer now. I sunk to the floor, holding my head in my hands and letting the tears flow. I gave a few shaky breaths, but it was apparently too loud. Perseus whispered to me "Shhh. This room echoes, and isn't soundproof. We have to be quiet."

Even though it was dark, I could still use my other senses. I heard the quiet scrapes of Perseus's shoes on the ground as he sat down next to me. I suddenly craved warmth, it was freezing in here. I scooched towards Perseus and felt for his hand. I felt it, and whispered, "Is that you?"

"No, that's the other person in here," he said. "Wait no, sorry. Bad time for jokes like that." We fell into silence again, but this time I was holding his hand. He squeezed like my hand was his lifeline, but I didn't mind.

There was no talking from then forward, just the touch of our hands and occasional gunshots and yelling. I was terrified, nearly shaking. Perseus seemed used to it. Of course, he was, he'd probably been in this situation a dozen times before. I envied how levelheaded he was though. I didn't want his first impression of me to be that I was one of those damsels in distress.

So when the loud noises slowly died down, I reached up a hand and wiped away the few tears that had strayed out of my eyes. I straightened my dress with one hand, still holding onto Perseus with the other.

Time passed. We eventually let go of each other's hands, but we were still close together. I was relieved that we were safe. The gunshots had been gone for a while now, but Perseus said that we would stay until the all-clear was given. I agreed with him, so we stayed.

It must've been an hour in the safe room before a guard came to get us. When he found us together, he seemed to be panicked and happy at the same time. I had a feeling that the "Stay Away From Each Other" rule would be ignored just this once. But to be safe, we staggered the times that we left the salon. I left first, accompanied by a guard I didn't know.

There was a lot of broken glass. The guard informed me of the details of the attack as he delivered me to my room. The rebels had wanted to frighten the palace, that was the point of their attack. About forty of them got into the castle, all armed with guns.

The yelling had been guards screaming orders. The gunshots had been the rebels firing at the guards. There was a standoff in the throne room, but the rebels were good shots. They didn't kill any guards, but there were some bad injuries. Then a group of twelve rebels got through the lines of guards and started wreaking havoc in the palace.

That was the screaming and the shattering glass. It was the rebels, purposefully making noise to frighten people. The guards had to fire on the group of twenty-five in the Throne Room before they could hunt down the smaller party hiding in the palace. Luckily, they did so. The attack took about an hour, and there were no casualties.

No casualties. That was music to my ears, and I breathed out in relief. Beckendorf was alright too, he had just been forced to abandon his post and join the fighting and didn't have time to alert me.

I reached my room and collapsed onto the bed. The guard stood vigil outside as I broke down into sobs once again. I wasn't safe here.

When I wiped away my tears and stared at the clock, I was reminded of the time. It was 12:00. Only four hours until the other ladies would arrive, and The Selection would begin.

 **Percy and Annabeth meet again, during a rebel attack! Annabeth gets her makeover! The Selection begins next chapter.**

 **Please review if you have any questions, or if you have anything to say at all, really. But please include in your review:**

 **1\. How long do you like chapters? This was slightly longer than usual.**

 **2\. Which POV do you like the most? Which one should I write in for the next chapter?**

 **3\. (Optional, guess): Who will Annabeth's maids be? If anybody guesses one, they will get a shoutout next chapter. Thanks for reading everyone, bye.**

 **-Meistar**


	12. Starts and Sparks

**Hello peoples! Wow, there were a lot of reviews last chapter. Thank you to everyone who did so, and favorites and followers. Sv007: Sorry that I failed to impress you in that last chapter, it won't happen again. Thanks for the advice though, it helps a lot. Tyozzie123: I am writing chapters at a length of 3-5 thousand words. Graciewee2213: I don't have one. I just try my best to update every few days. SnowyWhiskers: Thanks for the suggestions. Guest: Thank you for those great suggestions! I used the words casualties because there weren't injuries either. Athenachild101: Thanks for that long review, it made my day. If you have a lot of suggestions, feel free to PM me. Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or The Selection.**

 **This chapter will be very long. I realized that the beginning of the Selection would take longer to write than I thought. This may take longer to come out, sorry if it does.**

Annabeth's POV:

The arrival time of the girls was staggered. It was 3:30, and four girls had already arrived. I had spotted them in the hallway, but they didn't recognize me because the candidate for Angeles hadn't been revealed yet. The four were being rushed to the makeover room, where the attendants and aides were working overtime. They seemed to be in a huge rush because they didn't know that a group would arrive early.

I was permitted to be in the room, as there wasn't any other place to go. The group seemed... nice, but one of them had mistaken me for a servant already and asked me to get them some water. I had politely declined. The group of girls all seemed gorgeous, but they all changed something about their looks. I watched them get their makeovers done. By doing so, I learned about the roles they were going to play.

Hazel- a demure and small girl from Belcourt- took a good path for her frame and decided to go with the "Young and Innocent" look. Meanwhile, Alice Miyazawa from Fennley tried to be seductive. Naomi actually improved quite a bit. Her tangled and thin hair was cut short, and it looked gorgeous and mature. As for Zoe, she went for a "Queen" look. She looked pretty yet intense. But maybe the Prince would like something more subtle.

They were all sent to the Women's Room when their makeovers were over, and I decided to join them. As we crossed the hallway to reach it, we saw another group of five girls coming up the hallway and entering the spa. We waved at them, but they didn't notice. So we ignored them and went into the Women's Room.

The Women's Room felt like a much richer version of my own home. The moment that we stepped into the door, the air became warmer. It smelled like lemons, a scent I personally loved. Chairs and tables dotted the tile floor, and there were a number of couches, sectionals, armchairs, and ottomans. It felt very cozy and private. All of the furniture was angled to face a large television, which was playing the news.

I sat in a chair set up by a table. On the table were a chess board and pieces. Hazel sat down across from me, and said: "You're the Selected from Angeles, right?" Then she made her first move since she played White. She moved the pawn in front of her left bishop.

I scanned the board, then moved my knight over the row of pawns. Then I answered her question. "Yes, I am. My name is Annabeth Chase. And your name is Hazel Levesque, from Belcourt." I watched as she smiled and moved her bishop diagonally to take one of my pawns.

"Yeah, that's me," she answered. "How'd you know? I wasn't aware that I was _that_ famous."

I laughed at her subtle joke, and she grew less tense. "I memorized all of the names, Provinces, and Castes." Then I took her bishop by moving my castle forward. She winced in mock pain, and I found myself giving another short chuckle.

Then another one of the Selected in the room walked up to our table. They didn't take a seat, towering over us instead. "Well," said Naomi. "That's certainly an accomplishment." The sarcasm and subtle threat in her voice scared me, if possible. Just a tiny bit. She clearly gritted her teeth. Then I pushed off any fear I could have.

"You're Naomi Mono, a Three from Dakota," I told her. "Care to join us?" My voice was cool, and I was well aware that only two people could play chess. But I wanted to show this girl her place, something I had never wanted before. Maybe I wanted to protect Hazel, she was so young and clearly a bit frightened of Miss Mono. But the real reason was that I was protecting my own pride.

Nevertheless, Naomi pulled up a chair. The metal chair legs scraped loudly on the detailed tile floors, and Hazel winced at the noise. She certainly was very timid, or maybe that was just an act. I found myself wondering how heavy of a mask these girls were putting on in front of me.

Three could play at that game. I straightened my back and moved a piece, my castle. I moved it forward three squares and captured the pawn Hazel had moved during her turn. Then I picked up the piece and placed it on the side of the board since I had captured it.

It took a lot of concentration, but I eventually won the game. I wouldn't have pinned Hazel as an amazing chess player, but she nearly beat me. About halfway through the game, Alice Miyazawa began to play on the gorgeous grand piano that was placed in a corner. Her music was good, but not exceptional. Still, I admired it and clapped at the end of each song.

When our chess game was done, Hazel challenged Zoe Nightshade to a match. I gave up my seat and sat on a couch, to watch the news. Only a few minutes later, a few girls started appearing. From then on, a new girl would arrive every few minutes. Our number slowly grew until there were two dozen women in the Women's room.

A cabinet was discovered in the corner, with many board games and decks of cards. I assisted in stacking cards into a tower, which got to five stories high before crashing down. Girls kept coming in every few minutes. I tried to keep track of who was there and who wasn't, but I eventually gave up. Many people wanted to meet me since I hadn't been Selected the first time and my identity had been a mystery until then.

The attention eventually became a bit overwhelming, but I was saved by the clock. The door opened, and Aphrodite marched in. She had changed since I had last seen her, only a few hours ago. Her purple dress (Not unlike my own) was gone, replaced by a tailored woman's suit and professional blazer, and a floral pencil skirt. Her brown hair was curled to perfection, as always.

Aphrodite clapped her hands together. "Hello ladies!" she called. The mumble of conversation instantly died down. Everybody turned to face her, and she continued to speak. "Unfortunately, the schedule has been slightly altered. Because of the changes, you all will be meeting Prince Perseus tonight at dinner. But we have an hour before that happens."

"There are many things to do. Many of you may need rest after this busy day. If you would like to do that, you may leave now and do so. There are aides outside to lead you to your rooms. Go on now, times 'a wasting!" She smiled widely as a few girls stepped out of the room.

"The grounds are not available at this time, because of safety issues that arose this morning," she said. A round of mumbling waved over the room until Aphrodite shushed at the mumblers. "Luckily, you are free to stay in the Women's Room if you wish. You may also go to the library, the art gallery, or the astronomy room. And those of you that have shots and medications that were assigned to you should go to the hospital."

I was interested in going to the library, so I stood up with about twenty other girls. But as I did, Aphrodite announced "And those of you that don't want to do any of those things, feel free to join me in a quick etiquette class before you meet the Prince. Normally we would have several hours to go over these things, but the timetables were altered. My apologies."

Nevermind, I wanted to go to that "Etiquette Class." It would be good to have that edge over the other girls, who wanted to use this time for luxuries. Only a few girls remained for the etiquette class. I recognized all of them from their profile photos.

Hazel Levesque had stayed behind, and Zoe Nightshade too. They seemed to have been interrupted from their chess game because there were still quite a few pieces on the board. A girl from Kent, Reyna Arellano, had stayed behind too. A girl named Drew Tanaka stayed behind too, as well as a girl named Chiara Benvenuti and Calypso Atlas, a well known Two who modeled.

We all went to the dining hall early. It was still being set up by maids and butlers, and I felt like we were seeing the other side of the palace. The working side.

The Dining Hall looked strange. I had been in here only once before. Before, there had been one large table and chairs ringing around it. There'd been plenty of room, and a crimson-colored carpet set on the floor. The walls had alcoves in them, and in those alcoves were vases and pottery.

Now, the alcoves were covered off by black paper, although I had no idea why. The tables were being lifted and moved, and I realized that the one huge table was actually three long and skinny tables pushed together and covered with a ginormous tablecloth. A team of maids was carrying the tablecloth out, and the tables were being set up in a U formation.

Aphrodite instructed us to all take seats, so I did so quickly as to not draw too much attention to myself. She began with the basics of etiquette. How things would be served from the right, one glass was for water and the other for beverages, to never reach for a pastry with our bare hands. That was iterated many times, to always use the tongs. Napkins in our laps and hands off of the table. Elbows to hover away, and how to eat without elbowing the girl next to you. To not speak unless spoken to, and to only participate in a toast if we were drinking wine and the King declared that we would.

And finally, we learned how to curtsy. It was a long process since Drew kept complaining about doing the actual work. I tried my best not to roll my eyes at her antics, and I eventually perfected my curtsy. We learned that we had to always curtsy when we walked into a room with the queen or king in it, or if they entered a room we were in. That would be difficult to remember.

Time flew very quickly, and the hour passed into five minutes. Aphrodite looked at a clock I hadn't noticed before, exclaimed that we had to be early, and directed us towards the Great Room. She explained to us that the Royal Family had to be the first ones in the room for this occasion. We sat in the seats that had been provided in the Great Room, which hadn't been there before.

I watched the clock in the Great Room. There were only a few minutes left. I realized with a panic that I hadn't changed, but there was nothing to do about it now. I numbly sat in my chair, counting down the seconds. The other Selected trickled in like sands in an hourglass. Only two girls were late, and they arrived with flushed faces as if they'd been running in heels.

Everyone was lavishly dressed. Some of them had changed into even sparklier dresses. The makeovers this morning had only given people simple day gowns, but I had opted for something different. Everybody besides me had changed into something better for the dinner.

Everywhere I looked there were sequins, huge jewels embedded in necklaces, earrings, bracelets, I even spotted an anklet. I counted five plunging necklines and only two girls had completely covered their arms with long sleeves. The makeup was exquisite, even though some of the girls had piled too much on.

There was a lot to take in. I found myself wishing that I had gone up and changed. I looked too plain, because of my lack of accessories.

But just as everybody was settled in, a man entered the room. He wore a high-class grey suit and a brown tie. He bowed upon entering, and several girls giggled. "Ladies, I apologize for the interruption," he said. "My name is Hermes. Since the schedule has been so significantly altered, we are having some difficulty with time. The Royal Family are not available yet. Please go up to your rooms and wait there until we sort some things out. Again, my apologies."

Most of the girls were groaning as he exited the room, and slinking off to their rooms. But I found myself very pleased. It seemed that fate was on my side today, and I would get a chance to change.

I left the Great Room and sped up to my room. Who knew how much time I had? This morning when the rebels had attacked, I had heavily sweated in the safe room. I was happy to get out of this dress, and maybe even take a bath.

I had actually never been in my room. I'd been staying in another guest room because apparently having my own quarters would be an "Unfair Privilege." I didn't see how, but I also didn't know where my room was.

Luckily, I found a wild-looking aide named Fleecy to help me. She speed-walked me to my room, her fluffy white hair bouncing at every step. She brought me up the stairs and turned to the left. My room was at the end of the first hallway, so very close to the staircase that would bring me to the first floor. That was a good thing, I guess.

Fleecy sped off, leaving me at the doorway. This time, there wasn't a guard to open it. That was fine with me. I palmed the doorknob and turned it around. Then I slowly opened the door and stepped inside.

My maids weren't there. I suppose they were a bit late too. I decided to wait for them because they probably wanted to choose a dress for me or whatnot. I noticed that the bag that I had packed was on the bed I decided to unpack my things into the large wardrobe while I could because there wasn't anything else to do.

When I unpacked my bag, I found a black box inside. I had nearly forgotten about it. Smiling, I opened it to find the golden necklace that Helen had given to me before. I missed her, and my family. I set the necklace back in the box and placed it on top of the wardrobe. Then I finished unpacking.

Finally, my maids arrived. There were three of them. They each introduced themselves eagerly, and I found myself smiling.

The first was named Mellie. She had long, slowly flowing black hair, and brown eyes. Her face was timeless, and she was wearing a white and black maid's uniform like the others. She definitely seemed in charge. The second was named Julia. She seemed younger than Mellie, with an impish face and blonde hair. The last maid was named Ella, a lady with gorgeous red hair and coffee-colored eyes.

They all seemed very kind and on top of things, and I appreciated that. Julia opened up the closet and showed me the rack of gorgeous dresses they had created. Thank the gods, no feathers or sparkles. The dresses looked as I wanted them to, mature and classy.

But there was one dress in the back of the closet that Aphrodite and I had designed together for my first meeting with the prince. The dress was hanging in the back of the closet. Ella pulled out the gorgeous dress and hung in on a hook. The three ushered me into the bathroom, where I got ready for my bath. They found nothing dirty about my hair, which had been washed that morning. So they pushed my locks into a shower cap to save time.

The three seemed to decide that it would be best to leave me alone, so they left the bathroom. I could hear them chatting and gossiping outside though. I finished cleaning myself up within five minutes, just as the water started to feel cold. My maids came in again, handed me a towel, and had me sit in a salon chair, not unlike the one in the salon.

Ella brushed out my hair and quickly styled it into a fancy and slightly curled bun. Then she rubbed a hair-product into my locks to make it stay put. Mellie did my makeup, but I instructed her to keep it light and professional. She did so, and I was quite pleased with the outcome.

Meanwhile, Julia was in the other room, ironing out my dress. The creases from it being in the closet were now gone. She had also picked out multiple pieces of jewelry for me to choose from. I decided to go with a silver tiara and a matching silver bracelet. She also set out a pair of lavender heels.

I was quite happy with my outfit. My maids began giving me quick instructions on how to walk in heels. I'd done it before, but not very well. I was supposed to keep my posture straight and walk in a Y step, meaning every time I stepped I had to land on the outer border of the heel.

I walked around for a few minutes until my maids declared that my posture was correct. They also let me know that if I needed to, I could go to the Women's Room. They would have a pair of flats for me to wear if my feet got tired. But I was ready.

It was time to go meet the prince.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Percy's POV:

The palace was pandemonium. The rebels had done more damage than we thought. They had gotten to the dining hall and refrigeration room, and wreaked havoc. We hadn't noticed until the Selected began to arrive. The alcoves in the dining room had pottery and vases, but they had all been smashed to pieces. And all of the food in the freezer room had been tipped over and spilled. Nobody had thought to check the food stores until now.

The rebels had obviously planned to disrupt this dinner, above all else. But they had been fairly sneaky with it too, drawing attention to other places by smashing some glass in the hallways and yelling. It was a distraction.

Now I was trying to fix the damage. My father was in an urgent meeting with a delegate from France, inquiring about negotiation and diplomatics required in courtship for Estelle. She didn't know that she'd been forced into a marriage yet, and I was trying o push back the date by being responsible. My mother and Estelle were elsewhere, probably getting other work done. That left the ordering to me.

I strode into the Dining Hall, not pleased with what I saw. They were getting the tables ready, but not paying any attention at all to the state of the room. I saw a group of about five guards talking, so I decided to give them something to do. "Sir Beckendorf, please assign a team of butlers to clean up that glass," I commanded. "Sir Castellan and Sir Zhang, have a group of maids assist you in moving some pottery from the art gallery to those alcoves, to make the room look presentable."

They all raced off to do as I commanded, leaving two guards awkwardly standing there. I recognized them as the Stoll brothers, both guards from Paloma. "Sirs Stoll and Stoll, assist in moving that furniture. I need somebody to oversee it." They did so.

That only left one problem for me to deal with, the ruined food. I decided to consult with the chefs in the kitchens, so I set off with that as my destination. Luckily, the kitchens were right next to the dining room. I entered the Kitchens and saw a group of twelve chefs desperately cooking, and looking quite helpless.

"Prince Perseus," acknowledged one of the chefs. They all realized I was there and bowed until I nodded my head and gestured for them to get back to work. Time was crucial now, and the food had to be exquisite tonight.

"Cooks, we have a problem. You are aware of the stores that were broken into this morning, correct?" I asked. They all nodded. "So what do you need?" I asked them. "We all want something on each plate. Will you be alright without those stores, or are there any ingredients we could have delivered?"

The head chef broke away from his work. "Sir, we are preparing a multiple-course dinner. We need ice for the drinks, along with some vegetables to steam. We salvaged most of the ruined goods, but we don't have enough meats. There are also a few girls with dietary restrictions. We had prepared meals for them, but they were all ruined. I have a list of things we need here."

He handed me a list, and it wasn't too bad. Quite lengthy, but all of the items on it would be easy to obtain and not very expensive. I nodded and thanked him, and he got back to work shoving chopped vegetables into a massive pot. I passed the note off to a guard and gave him instructions to go with some servants and get the food they would need.

Things were finally falling into place until I glanced at the time. It was 6:00. It was time for dinner, and time to meet the Selected. But the Dining hall wasn't clean, and the food hadn't been purchased yet. I would need at least forty-five more minutes. Possibly more.

I saw an advisor walking towards me. It was Hermes Castellan, our head guard's father. His family had been extremely influential in the Royal Family. "Sir Castellan, what can I do for you?" I asked him. I figured it would be courteous to ask him first what his troubles were. He was the Master of Events, after all.

"Prince Perseus," he said. "The Selected are all gathered in the Great Room. Aphrodite told me to let you know."

Damn, she was more efficient than I thought she'd be. "Hermes, we aren't ready yet. Inform Aphrodite that the girls must go up to their rooms and wait for us to be ready." I felt bad sending him back, but he understood and went back the way he came.

We could do this. I could do this.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0 Forty-Three Minutes Later 0-0-0-0-0-0-0

I was pacing, running my hands through my hair, sweating through my new suit. Two minutes until I would meet my wife. The nerves were creeping up on me, and I flinched in shock when I heard a knock on the door. "Perce?" I heard. It was Jason. "Open up the door!"

I sighed and did as he said. He marched in with astounding speed and set upon me the best lecture I'd heard in my life. He said only "Come on Percy, pull yourself together. Do you really want them to meet you like this?"

No, I didn't want that. I shook my head no, and he sighed. "Come on, let's fix you up." He looked fine, and I envied his composure. Jason pushed me towards my bathroom and told me to brush my hair. I had messed it up when I'd been pushing my hands through it.

When I looked into the mirror, I realized that I had been sweating like a madman. I splashed my face with water to wake myself up and stroked a comb through my hair a few times. Then I emerged from the bathroom and saw Jason holding up one of my older suits. It was grey too and looked nearly the exact same.

He looked away as I changed into the older suit, and I tied me tie again as he turned around to talk. "Thank the gods, you look presentable now. Nobody will notice the difference. But you'll probably be more comfortable in a suit you've worn before."

Jason was right, I was calmer in the older clothes. I felt presentable now. "Thanks," I said. "You're awesome. Sorry for being stressed."

He cracked a smile. "It's alright. It happens to the best of us. Let's go meet your wife. It's time. I informed Aphrodite that it's time. All you have to do is go down there. I'll remind you, you're the prize."

We left my room. The walk seemed to go faster than it did, and I missed most of the conversation. Within no time, we were in the dining hall. There were no people there yet, which was relieving. Jason's family had been visiting, so they sat at the Royal Table with us. Zeus and Jason were a family. His mother had died, and his sister had too. But Zeus was a powerful Two with a vast supply of resources, so he belonged at the head table.

Jason took a seat next to me, and Estelle did as well. Estelle was next to my mother, who was next to my father, who was seated next to Zeus. Zeus was next to Aphrodite and Hermes.

I watched the clock. Ten seconds until they would be here. Five now. Time seemed to slow down, and then the door opened.

The pair of guards at the door had opened it, revealing Aphrodite leading thirty-five women into the hall. A fair few of them curtsied, but many of them didn't. Luckily, they all followed the group eventually. My father nodded, and they stood again.

Aphrodite instructed them to take their seats, and I rose from my own. "Hello," I said. It seemed like a good start. Every pair of eyes in the room snapped to me, but the exhilaration kept me from faltering. "I am Perseus Jackson, as you all know. There is a balcony attached to this room. I will be there to meet you all. But first, dinner."

Just then, waitresses and waiters streamed into the room holding platters of food. I took this as a good place to leave my seat since nobody would be staring at me. There was indeed a door to a balcony connected to this room, so I went there. Only a few minutes later, the first girl joined me.

"Hello, my dear," I said. "You're Sadie Kane, right?" I recognized her from the profiles. In her picture, she had blue streaks in her hair. They had been replaced with soft red ones, which matched the color of her dress. The makeover had done well for her.

She smiled brightly, saying "That's right." Well thank the gods, if I had gotten that wrong it would be tragic. We had a pleasant conversation, and I saw no reason to eliminate her. She left, and I spent another few minutes in silence. Then another girl entered.

Naomi Mono, that was her name. She looked at least a thousand times better with her makeover. She was wearing a deep purple dress with what must have been a million sequins sewn to the back. I honestly didn't understand her fashion sense, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. She actually looked very nice.

Of course, I began to doubt my kinder assumptions at the moment she began speaking. She didn't let me get in a single word, she only ranted about how at least five girls were terrible and should be thrown out on the first day. I was disgusted, but I held my tongue until she left.

It took a while for me to reach a familiar face. Annabeth Chase was the fifteenth girl that I met with. She was wearing a gorgeous lavender gown and silver jewelry. Her hair was up, making her look mature, a lot like my mother looks except for with a modern twist.

She opened the door and stepped onto the balcony, clearly looking at the view. Then she finally realized that she was supposed to curtsy. She did so, even though it was a little bit belated. Then she effortlessly picked up her embarrassed emotions from the ground and took a seat next to me.

I decided to begin the conversation at the same time she did. I said "So my name is," at the same time she said, "Hello Prince Perseus."

She laughed, and I followed her example. I decided to respond to what she had said, by saying "Hello, Miss Chase. How are you today?" Her eyes flitted with laughter.

"Just call me Annabeth," she said. "And to answer your question, Perseus, I am doing quite well. But I do have a few questions for you about earlier this morning." The air in the room seemed a bit colder because our conversation had gotten to more formal topics.

I was alright talking about it though. But this was preferable to other conversations. "Just call me Percy," I said. "And what do you want to ask? I assume it's about the rebel attack."

That attack had been more frightening than most because they had executed a good plan that had actually caused quite a few problems. And also, because Annabeth had been in trouble. I remembered her. She had just gotten a makeover, and I had seen her in her distress. She had looked beautiful, but panicked. That was understandable though.

"Okay- Percy," she said, testing out the foreign name. "I was wondering what they weren't telling me. They told me about the attack, but I had a feeling they were covering things up." I knew who 'they' was referring to. The guard that had taken her to her room after the attack.

Something made me want to tell her. "They were distracting us," I said. "They sent another team of people to the Dining Hall, and to the Refrigeration Room. They destroyed a lot of stuff, but we fixed it while you guys were in your rooms."

Something calculating was in her eyes. She was thinking something through. But she clearly dismissed it and said "Interesting. Sorry, I was curious. So, how are you?" she said.

I blinked. Nobody else had asked about me. "I am doing well," I answered. "But it's a big job to choose a future queen and a future wife."

She smiled again, and I found myself wanting to continue speaking. "But I certainly cannot choose you for the first date, because people would think that was favoritism- as much as I may want to. So who do you I should go on a date with?"

I trusted her to give me a good person. She grinned and said "You should go on a date with... Katie Gardner. I talked with her this afternoon in the Women's Room, and she seemed really sweet. Have you met her yet?"

Yes, I had. "Yes," I said. "She seemed to be all of the traits that you just described. Where should we go? I'm pretty hopeless in these matters." It was true, but I also just wanted Annabeth to keep talking. I wanted to learn about her, and she wasn't giving me much.

"Go to the gardens. She mentioned that she liked them to me today. But if she asks you why you took her there, don't tell her I told you. Tell her that you noticed the flowers in her hairstyle the first night and wondered if that was something she'd enjoy," instructed Annabeth.

That gave me some information. Annabeth was a quick thinker. She was observant, and she would want me to refer back to earlier conversations. At least, that's what I was getting from her.

"Unfortunately, Annabeth, our time is up," I announced. "Have a good dinner, and thank you for the advice." She left the room, leaving me with a lot of thinking to do. I interviewed the rest of the girls and came up with a few names that I didn't want on the lists anymore.

I eventually left the balcony. I had never received dinner, and my stomach was quite angry at that fact. All of the girls had left the Dining room, and gone to the Great Room. I would make the first cuts in the Great Room, and then everyone would have dessert. That sounded like a strange plan in my mind, but my father said it would work.

So I entered the Great Room, trying my best to look confident. But what if I was making a mistake? What if I kicked out my soulmate on the first night? No, I wouldn't do that. I was getting rid of these nine because they were rude, unmannered, or indecent. I didn't want those qualities in my queen. I was in the Great Room, and all of the girls were staring at me.

I began to speak. "Hello again, ladies." There was a chorus of giggles. "I have a list of names here. If your name is on it, please stay here. If not, please go to the Dining Hall for dessert. Thank you."

Then I began listing names. "Naomi Mono, Lulu Zafiro, Doris Topacio, Nyssa Barrera, Billie Ng, Valentina Diaz, Meg McCaffrey, Clarisse La Rue, and Leila Huluobo. Please stay here. Everyone else, please go get dessert."

Most of the girls I'd asked to stay were smiling. They thought staying was a good thing. It wasn't a good thing.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0 Five Minutes Later 0-0-0-0-0-0-0

I was out of the room, and it was a huge relief. The first cuts were made, and I wouldn't look back on them. At least, I would try not to.

Annabeth Chase was near the back of the pack of girls going up the staircase. She looked happy and was talking with some other girls. I wanted to ask her on the first date, but I couldn't. The press would throw a fit. So instead, I approached Katie Gardner. I had to nearly run to catch up.

She was in the middle of the group, so all eyes were on me as I asked her "Katie, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Katie nodded delightfully, and I led her away from the prying eyes. But before I turned the corner with Katie, I made quick eye contact with Annabeth. And at that moment, the certain spark weighing down in my chest flared up brightly and eased down when I looked away.

 **Phew- that was 6,000 words! I just decided to keep writing. Wow, I'm quite proud. So Annabeth met her maids and had her first official meeting with Percy. Katie gets the first date. Nine girls have been sent home, and Percy may have a connection to someone. :)**

 **Thanks for all of the reviews, please keep it up. And now for your daily prompts for reviews:**

 **1\. (Optional: Guess) How will the date with Katie go?**

 **2\. Give me some dress ideas, and character profiles! I will include them in little ways.**

 **3\. Which POV next chapter? Luke? Annabeth? Percy? Multiple? A selected girl?**

 **Okay, I'm done. Thanks everyone.**

 **-Meistar**


	13. Eliminations and Envelopes

**Hello peoples! Wow, there were a ton of reviews last chapter. Thank you so much! Responses to reviews: Tyozzie123: Love that dress idea, but not on Annabeth. Maybe Zoe, cause references. Livvi May: Thanks for that idea, but I'm trying to keep Katie from being the new Marlee. Thatonerie: Thanks! But this isn't a "Royal The Bachelor Concept." Have you read the Selection? Because that is what I'm referencing. Timrocks99: Thanks for the idea. Planning on it. Athenachild101: Thank you so much, I try. I will try to incorporate some of those ideas. Penny: Great, but not on Annabeth. Strange, the two dresses I received were both dark colors. Jason: Great idea. Guest: That's awesome, and I will do that! Thank you so much!**

 **Wow, I got a record number of reviews. Keep it up! Here's your chapter!**

Katie's POV (Requested by quite a few people):

I couldn't believe that I got the first date! Percy was taking me to the gardens, so I dressed an adorable day dress. My maids straightened my hair, instead of curling it like yesterday. I actually liked it much better. They also gave me a necklace with a golden flower, and I wore some brown flats because heels wouldn't work as well outside.

The dress I was wearing was a pale blue. Most people had expected me to wear green, which was exactly why I didn't. Everybody thought Miranda and I were sisters since we both loved plants and we had the same last name. It wasn't spelled the same way, but it was pronounced the same. I had to make sure to distinguish myself from Miranda. She had worn a green dress yesterday, so I couldn't wear that color.

Percy (he asked me to call him that) showed up at my door with a bouquet of sunflowers. Oh, that charmer! He had a cute grin on his face, which I mirrored. We went down the spiral staircase, and it seemed like a fairytale from a child's storybook come-true. We reached the doors to the outside, and they were opened for us by a pair of guards.

Once we stepped out, I instantly realized how windy it was. My hair flew into my face. I was embarrassed since Percy was chuckling. But he regretted it an instant later when another jet of cool air came and knocked the bouquet out of his hands. He ran after it like a puppy and managed to catch it before it reached the ground.

Since the wind wouldn't calm down, Percy took us inside for a private breakfast. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, only saying "It's a Surprise, Katie! Live a little," and laughing at my confusion. We went up the stairs again and traveled down the main hall.

There were many places for dates inside the palace. We went to a balcony attached to the second floor. This one was right above the gardens. There was a railing along the edge, and a picnic table placed in the center of the balcony. We sat at opposite sides of the table and ate breakfast together. By then, the weather was completely clear. The Sun was streaming from the sky.

For breakfast, we got large settings of pastries on silver platters. There was everything from chocolate-covered strawberries to cinnamon-flavored wafers. The tiny portions helped as to not get food on our faces, and I was appreciative of that little detail. We also had orange juice to drink. It was very fresh, and I learned that it had been squeezed only a few minutes ago.

When breakfast was done, we went to the gardens again. Our plates, silverware, and cups were left behind, maids would be there in a moment to get them. Percy led me around the staircase for the third time.

We went down to the gardens again. It had rained the last night, so everything had been naturally watered. There were beautiful drops of dew on most of the flowers. I wished I had had my camera, but it was back home. Percy didn't know the names of any flowers, so I taught them to him. All in all, it was an amazing experience.

Until the other group showed up and ruined it.

I was showing Percy how Clematis's followed the Fibonacci sequence when a group of girls rounded the corner. I knew their names. Drew, Kelli, Hylla, and Holly. They were talking in loud voices, and I couldn't believe that I hadn't heard or seen them until then.

Drew clasped her hands around her mouth and said "Oh my goodness, I'm _so_ sorry! We didn't know you were out here. We just got here a few minutes ago!" The other girls followed suit, nodding and saying "My bad. Woopsies," too many times. I gritted my teeth. I was so angry that I expected steam to come from my ears.

Percy seemed disgruntled, but not too angry. "Girls, maybe you should go back inside. You aren't supposed to be outdoors anyways, especially without guards. There are security risks if nobody knows where you are," he said.

Hylla took the lead, saying "We got permission from the two guards guarding the doors, and from Hermes." Again, a chorus of nods and "Yeah's." This was infuriating! They were ruining our date. But Percy decided to take the high road and not confront them.

"Next time, make sure you aren't interrupting anyone," he said. "The garden is all yours now." He led me out by the arm. When I looked back, they all had smirks on their faces. I couldn't believe that he let them win. Percy led me back to my room but didn't talk at all. Up the stairs, down two hallways. We ended up at my door.

Percy seemed slightly saddened that it had ended early, or maybe it was just my imagination. "Sorry that it ended, Katie," he said. "I'll see you at lunch." Then he left me at the door with my bouquet in my hands.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Annabeth's POV:

Katie had received the first date. Everyone knew how it had gone because she had told Miranda and Miranda told everyone. I seriously thought they were related. She had gone to the gardens with Percy, gotten a bouquet, eaten some pastries, and gotten walked up to her room when some other girls walked in on them.

I knew it hadn't been an accident. Those girls had stricken me from the beginning as pure evil. Drew was cruel, Kelli was a sadist, Hylla was overprotective in a bad way, and Holly was extremely competitive. I wasn't worried about them though. They'd get themselves kicked out within a week.

Yet again, I was in the Women's Room. I was there with about ten other girls, reading in the corner. Someone was playing their violin, and there were two ongoing games of chess when the door opened and Aphrodite rushed in, saying "Mail, ladies! I'll call your name, and you can get it."

She began calling out names. "Piper Mclean. Lou Ellen Blackstone. Celyn Flecha. Kinzie Dinero. Annabeth Chase." As soon as I heard my name, I rushed up to grab my mail. She was passing out large envelopes, which had the letters inside. I opened the metal clasp holding the orange envelope together and pulled out my letters.

My first thought? There were a lot of letters. There were at least twenty. I spread them across a table and began opening them. When I looked around the room, I saw that the other girls had received a larger amount of letters too. Strange, what were they?

It turned out that it was fan-mail. Eighteen of the twenty letters were fan mail. I read it all, every last word. The first one read:

"Hi, Annabeth! This is a fan of yours from Belcourt! I really want you to win! You seem super smart, and that's awesome! I read a newspaper report, and the public seems to really not like you though! They think you being in the palace is unfair! But I don't think so, I think you're awesome! -IZZY!"

I laughed aloud at the many exclamation points and dramatic underlining in multiple colors. How sweet was that girl? But I couldn't wait to open my letters from home. The envelope from home was bulging at the seams. When I opened it, I found multiple papers inside. I pulled out four sheets of paper and began reading the one on the top of the stack.

 _September 13th: Hey, Annabeth. This is Bobby, Matthew, Helen, and Frederick._ All of the names were written in different handwritings.

 _We couldn't decide what to write in the letter, so we split it up into sections. We hope you don't mind, and we hope that you will respond to each section too. Here we go._

 _HI ANNABETH! This is Bobby. I hope you're having a good time at the palace. You have to tell me everything. Does Percy have any siblings our age, and do they play with toy robots too? Cause that would be super cool. I don't really want to know about the romance stuff though. Please don't talk about that, it's really gross. I miss you, send home some cool stuff. -Bobby._

 _This is Matthew. Just so you know, school started and you're missing it. But Bobby and I got our school photos. We sent you a copy so that you can give it to your husband and tell him how awesome we are and then we'll be famous. Please send food, preferably cake. -Matthew._

 _Hello Annabeth. How is your time at the palace going? You have an obligation to tell me everything, so please do so :). Being home is great. We got that first check and bought Bobby and Matthew some school clothes and a new microwave since the old one broke. There's a photo we took and printed of the whole family since Malcolm came to visit. You just missed him. I want to say come home soon, but that's not what you should do for obvious reasons. -Helen._

 _This is your dad, Frederick. Just in case you didn't remember me. I'm sorry that I didn't get to say goodbye, so I'm saying it now. I'm sending a ton of hugs too. Malcolm just got a promotion, he came home to celebrate. Things are going well here at home. Matthew did a science project and broke the microwave. Even though it's only been four days, we all really miss you. When you send us a letter back, you've got to tell us every single detail about the Prince, about the Palace, and the food (Bobby's request). Have a good time, Annabeth. We love you._

 _It's been so long, Annabeth. This is Malcolm. I just got a promotion, so I came home to visit the family and celebrate. I know it's been forever since we've seen each other, so I thought I would send a photo of my boyfriend, Mitchell. He's on the far left. I'm in the middle. To my right are my friends, Emma and Brad. The photo should be in there, so you can take a look. But since I'm leaving Mum and Dad's tomorrow, send a letter to this address: 1234 Diplomat Street, 09876 Angeles, Illea._

 _We love you Annabeth! Send us a letter back soon. Bye!_

I folded up the letter and took a look at the other things in the envelope. Sure enough, there were three photographs. Two of them displayed Bobby and Matthew in blazers and white shirts. The other showed four people. The one to the far left was pretty handsome, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Next to him was my brother, Malcolm. He looked just the same as ever. They were holding hands. To the right were two of his friends, a brunette, and a red-head.

There was only one letter left now. It was a nice envelope, so I tried to preserve it by opening the letter carefully. There was only a slim paper inside. I pulled it out of the envelope. The paper said "To Annabeth. I was wondering if you would join me for a date tomorrow? I will pick you up at 2:00 in the afternoon. From Percy."

Well, I suppose I would be going on a date with him. I raced off to my room to inform my maids so that they could make me a day-dress. But I asked them to make it casual because he hadn't said what he wanted to do in his letter. And that left me wondering, what was he planning?

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Percy's POV:

I had to make an elimination by the end of the week. My father had let me know that the sooner, the better. He hated sending such large portions of money to the Selected's families, so if I eliminated someone we could save money. So I decided to crowd my schedule with girls that hadn't made such a nice impression. It was better to send someone home if they didn't have a hold on me. Because in reality, I started with thirty-five girls. It would be difficult to get that number down to one.

Yesterday, a few girls had made bad impressions. They had been eliminated. My date today was with a girl named Alice Miyazawa. She had stuttered a lot during our meeting and used an obsessive amount of filler words. If this girl couldn't speak publicly with a clear voice, she wouldn't be a contender. I traveled to her room to meet her for the date.

She was wearing a pink dress, and couldn't stop with her words. When I picked her up from her room, she said "Umm, hi, erm, Percy. Yeah." Her voice was also annoyingly high pitched. However, we could fix some of these things. The palace could hire a speech teacher if the date went really well.

Unfortunately, it did not.

We went to the Astronomy Room since that was one of her passions. It was dark, and there were chairs that tilted back so that you could see a projected image of the night sky on the ceiling. She pointed at some constellations. While she seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, I did not. I liked the Astronomy Room, but this wasn't a great first date. I couldn't really talk to her.

We had a private lunch in the Astronomy Room too. There were tables in the corner, dimly lit by strands of LED lights hanging from the ceiling. We were eating mini Shepherd pies. Alice suddenly stopped eating. She looked into my eyes and began to speak. Her stuttering and fillers were suddenly gone. "Perseus, you need to get rid of some of the other girls," she said. "They're horrid."

The room went from pleasant to freezer-cool. "Why do you say that?" I asked. My eyes were telling her to stop talking. If she did, she may have gotten a second chance.

"Well, for instance, Thalia. Her goth fashion is just horrific! You don't want her representing the palace. And Reyna is haughty, it's really annoying. Oh, and Chiara Benvenuti is just so immature. She's complaining every second of every day. And Annabeth Chase is so-" she began to say.

I cut her off before she could get to say what Annabeth was. "Get out," I said. I pointed at the door. Her eyes got teary, but her posture straightened. Her body language was mocking me, so I said it again. "Get out of here. I don't want a Queen who believes she is better than everyone else. Pack your bags, say goodbye to your maids. I don't want to hear another word."

I stood up, and she mirrored me. I pointed at the guard at the door. "You. Lead Miss Miyazawa out of here. She's leaving the palace." Then I collapsed back into my chair. The Shepherd's pie no longer looked very good, my appetite was ruined. I had followed my father's instructions.

Unfortunately, I had yet another date only fifteen minutes away. I was supposed to spend an hour with Kayla Knowles. Sighing, I went to my office. Pinned on one of the walls was a map of the second floor and a labeled guide as to where each Selected Room was. With a destination in mind, I went up to the second floor.

As I was walking there, I bumped into Aphrodite. She was holding a suspiciously familiar paper- the schedule I had created this morning. I was about to ask where she got it, but I was beaten to the second sentence. Aphrodite beamed and announced "Percy! I was looking for you. I took a look at your schedule, and realized that you have a date tomorrow with Annabeth Chase."

Oh no- was she about to say that I shouldn't do it? No, she didn't. Instead, it was "Oh, don't look so stricken. Your date tomorrow is scheduled during a mandatory photo-shoot. So you will need to reschedule it. I've already informed Miss Chase. When and where should it be? I can make the changes to your schedule."

"We have The Report in a few days, and I need to get it in before then. As for the place... it's just a walk around the palace. Nothing major there," I said. But I was lying, I did have something planned. I just didn't want Annabeth to know about it, and Aphrodite loved to gossip.

Aphrodite speed-walked away, and I continued to head towards Kayla's door. I knocked, then entered. The date went well, but I couldn't concentrate on Kayla. My mind was on only one person. Annabeth Chase.

 **Kind of slow chapter, sorry about that. Also much shorter than the last one, but I thought this was a good stopping point. Katie and Percy went on there date, but it was interrupted. Annabeth got her letters. Alice Miyazawa was kicked out, and Annabeth's date was rescheduled.**

 **Your review prompts:**

 **1\. I need more dresses, but only for Annabeth. I wasn't specific enough in the last chapter, so here are some requirements:**

 **(a.) It has to be classy and mature looking. (** **b.) No sequins, sparkles, gemstones, etc. (** **c.) Good colors for her hair color. Lighter colors are better. Deep colors are okay, but no dark colors.**

 **2\. (Guess): What is Percy planning for Annabeth's date?**

 **3\. Who will be eliminated next?**

 **Okay, thank you for reading. Sorry that this was short. I had a few hours to write, but it was either a short chapter or a very long wait. I chose the short chapter. Also, things will speed up in the next one. There wasn't much action here, sorry about that. See ya'll later, bye!**

 **-Meistar**


	14. Depictions and Dates

**Wow- 95 reviews by now! That's our goal for next time. Keep in mind: I won't respond to reviews unless they include questions or things I feel the need to let everyone know. Thanks for all of the dress ideas, keep 'em coming. Thanks to Tyozzie123 for the dress ideas. And also, nobody guessed what the date with Annabeth would entail. But I wasn't expecting anybody to do so, because it's so specific. You will have to read this chapter to figure it out! Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or the Selection.**

Annabeth's POV:

I was very disappointed that my date with Percy had been canceled. But according to Aphrodite, it had been rescheduled for directly after the photo-shoot. I was getting ready for the photo-shoot now.

There were specific parameters for what I could wear to the shoot. I could wear any style of dress, but it had to include the colors black and gold. The second color had been specified to a certain shade, a brownish-gold and reminded me of how a tree's bark would look if it were hit with a ray of sunlight. It was a gorgeous color and looked very good with nearly every hair and skin color. It was obviously chosen because it would look flattering on everyone.

My dress was designed to make me look mature, and I liked it a lot. It was a floor-length, black, A-Line dress with thick shoulder straps. The material was very smooth and modern-looking. The gold was incorporated in multiple places, as a small highlight. It rimmed the waistline, and the sleeves of the dress were the golden color too. I was also wearing flats and earrings in it.

My hair was being styled by my maids. They had straightened the majority of my locks to make it easier to style. They put it into a low bun. The strands that hadn't been incorporated into the bun were curled and set in front of my ears to frame my face. I loved this hairstyle, it looked gorgeous. The curls looked completely natural. Lastly, they lowered a golden tiara onto my head.

I was ready.

Mellie offered to walk me to the Photography Room, but I already knew where it was. I'd gone there with Luke only a few days ago, during the tour. I opened the door to my room and lightly gasped in surprise. Percy was right outside of my room, leaning against the wall, a crooked grin on his face.

"Did I scare you?" he teased. His face morphed into an even larger grin, if possible. But he seemed slightly uncomfortable, and I wondered why. I realized that this was the first time we had talked. As in _really_ talked. The arranged meeting two days ago didn't count. I had to make a good impression. But my stubbornness and sarcasm were leading my next words, not my maturity.

"Oh, sure. I'm incredibly frightened," I deadpanned. "Can't you tell? My knees are practically shaking. Might I ask what you are doing outside my room, Percy? Besides scaring, of course." My mature side struck back again and attempted to steer the conversation away from humor.

Percy's green eyes sparkled with humor, and I found myself caught in them. The most gorgeous hue of sea green. I nearly missed what he said, due to staring. "-here to talk with your maids," he was saying. "I need to consult with them about your outfit for the date later today. It will be an unconventional place, to say the least."

I found myself nodding, trying to act like I'd heard everything. My curiosity burned in my head, and I had to ask "So where are we going, then?"

I should've known that he would respond with "It's a surprise. That means you can't know yet." I wanted to respond, but he wasn't done. "Sorry to cut this conversation off, but your maids have been listening to this the entire time, and I need to talk to them about your outfit for tonight. And you have a photo shoot to attend," he said.

The clock at the end of the hallway told me that I only had a few minutes to get to the Photography Room if I wanted to be ten minutes early. I began to stroll away, until I heard his smooth voice say "By the way, Annabeth? You look gorgeous." I stopped walking, turning around. He was slightly blushing, but his eyes hadn't lost their starry shimmering.

A soft smile spread across my own face. "Thanks. You look nice too," I commented. Nice? He looked much better than nice. But I couldn't stop my words now that they were said. Percy grinned again and turned on his heel. I found myself doing the same. There was a spring in my step as I glided down the stairs.

I reached the Photography Room. There was nobody there yet, except for Aphrodite. She seemed surprised to see me. "Annabeth! You're early."

I nodded to acknowledge her statement and took a seat on the bench outside the door. The cushion was so heavily stuffed that it puffed up, making it quite uncomfortable to sit in. The minutes passed quickly, and more Selected trickled in. I counted the people when it was time for the photo-shoot to begin. There were twenty-four people. I knew for a fact that there were supposed to be twenty-five. Someone must've been late.

We began without them, but I didn't know everyone's face well enough to determine who "Them" was. I decided to forget about it. We went into the photography room. I quickly claimed a spot on the sectional in the corner, since I knew there would be a wait. I was right.

The photographers were doing singular shots, but there were only three photographers in total. So things were moving very slowly. They called out names, and I vaguely listened as they called out the first three. "Sadie Kane, Zoe Nightshade, and Phoebe Ambar." Those three girls went up to the cameras. They posed a lot, and the cameramen occasionally called out advice on how to change their stances.

They went by quite quickly, cooperating with everything that the photographers suggested. The next girls were called back at wavering times- Celyn Flecha, Kelli Colmillo, and Kinzie Dinero- and the first group of girls returned to the large group in the corner.

Trouble only occurred when Holly Victor went up. She insisted on the photographer taking extra pictures of her because she wanted to be in the spotlight. She took up twenty minutes of extra time. Many pairs of eyes were now glaring at her, including my own. She was holding up the train. Eventually, she stopped resisting and came back.

I turned to Hazel to chat because I was getting extremely bored just sitting and watching. "Hazel, your dress is just gorgeous!" I exclaimed.

It was. The dress was golden, with black polka-dots. It had a mature-looking jewel neckline. She had gone with a risky move when she chose polka-dots, that could make her seem immature. But there was nothing immature about the length of the gown. She combined the childlike spots with elegant maturity by adding length to the dress so that it trailed behind her. A perfect combination of playfulness and maturity.

"Oh, this? Yeah, my maids are so talented. If I ever leave, I plan to take them with me. Such sweet angels!" she cooed. I could relate to that statement, mine were too. "And your dress Annabeth- it just seems so queenly! There's not another word to describe it," gushed Hazel.

"Miranda Gardner, Lou Ellen Blackstone, Silena Beauregard," called out the photographers. I saw three girls get up and cross the room until they were in front of the bright lights and cameras.

Hazel stared at the group. "They all look so good. Everyone does. Look at Silena's dress- it's just so _her_. I love how everyone can just express their personality here." Well, an optimistic view. I was looking them over and wondering how to be better than them, but Hazel took one glance and said some inspirational quote. She was so carefree.

Aphrodite wandered into the Photography Room. "Girls, it seems much too crowded in here," she exclaimed. "If you've already been called, please go to the Women's Room and wait there until dinner starts." Then she wandered over to me and whispered into my ear "Annabeth, your date with Percy is during dinner. Don't bother going to the Women's Room, head up to your room instead and get ready." I nodded, and Aphrodite left. Hazel instantly attacked me with words. "You have a date with Percy after this?" That stirred the attention of quite a few others.

Everyone started asking me questions. "Where is he taking you?" and "How did you do it? What's your strategy?" The attention was overwhelming. I eventually just answered them all by saying "Sorry, I don't know anything about what we're doing. He said it was a surprise. And I don't have a strategy. I'm just being me."

Just then, more names were called. "Chira Benvenuti, Bianca Di Angelo, and Annabeth Chase, please." I tore myself away from the other girls, who were still asking questions. This time they were directed at Hazel, who kept telling them she didn't know any more than they did.

I was at Photography booth C. The photographer was a large man with a rainbow-colored mustache and orange hair. Honestly, how crazy were these people? Just because you could dye your hair didn't mean you should. His nametag read "Butch Walker," and he had a rainbow tattoo on his arm to match his hair.

Butch had me do a standing shot first, for a simple profile. He consistently yelled orders, and I was nearly positive that the entire room could hear him. "Stand up straighter! No- not _that_ straight. Now it looks like you're stiff." Then we did a headshot- "move your hair out of your face"- and a profile headshot, which was apparently a picture of the side of the head.

Then we actually did some poses. A chair was moved to the spotlight, and we got about three shots of me sitting. After that, we got a few photographs of some different facial expressions.

Butch finally gave me a thumbs-up and allowed me to leave. I left the Photography Room and- remembering Aphrodite's instructions- went up to my room. Down the hallway, up the spiral staircase, up another hall, took a left turn, and I reached my room. My maids ushered me inside. Gloria instantly whirled me around to the bathroom. I took a seat in the salon chair as she began to work on my hair.

The bun from before was as gorgeous as ever, but she apparently wanted a new style. I watched the clock as she took down the bun, and started straightening my hair. It was 6:45. There were only 15 minutes until I'd be meeting with Percy. Most of my hair had been flat-ironed before the Photo Shoot, so it only took two minutes to straighten my hair.

Seconds ticked by as she braided my hair into a crown-braid, which twirled around my head like, well, a crown. It was 6:51 when she finished with my hair, and Mellie pulled me out of the bathroom to get changed.

My dress was gorgeous. It was a cream-colored day dress with an illusion neckline. I stepped into it as Ella began to pick out accessories. She chose a pair of pale blue flats, but nothing else. This was strange because usually, they chose jewelry, and this was the first time they hadn't given me heels. I began to wonder why, but I couldn't come to any conclusion.

It was 6:59 now, and my maids rushed out of the room. I sat on my bed and waited for Percy to arrive, my mind filled with swarming questions. Where were we going?

I heard a knock on the door. I stood up as the door opened, revealing Percy in the same suit I had seen him in before, and a blue tie. He instantly said "Hello, Annabeth. We don't have much time, so can you please come with me? And hurry." He waited just long enough for me to reach the doorway and then started speedily striding down the hallway. I followed, easily following his quick pace.

Percy led me to a secluded room. "So I have a plan for this date," he said. "But we have to eat dinner first. I can imagine that you're hungry." As he said that, my stomach let loose an embarrassing growl. My cheeks went pink, and he grinned.

The room he led me to was an average size. There was a table and two chairs set up in the center of the room. There was also a platter of food with a dome-shaped silver cover. As Percy and I took our seats, he unveiled a platter of... blue pancakes?

I stared at his food choice, but Percy seemed unembarrassed. "There's nothing better than breakfast for dinner," he exclaimed. "And I love blue." I made a mental note to wear a blue dress tomorrow as we dug into the stack of strangely colored pancakes. There were many condiments, like syrup, butter, and fresh blueberries and lemons. There were even bottles of peach preserves.

The dinner was odd but quite fun and delicious. And I did learn a lot about Percy. After we finished the pancakes, a pair of butlers came in. One took the plates we had used, and another set two bowls in front of us. The bowls contained lemon-flavored ice cream.

"How did you know?" I asked Percy. "How'd you know that lemon was my favorite flavor?" I had a history with lemon-scented or flavored things. I loved lemons because they repelled spiders. Also, because they tasted amazing when used correctly.

Percy only gave me a crooked grin, saying "I have my ways." We ate our ice cream happily, leaving our silverware and bowls behind as we strode together out of the room. "So I suppose I should tell you where we're going," Percy told me as we walked down the hallway.

"About time," I responded. "I've been wondering all day." I tried to make it sound like I was complaining, but I loved the suspense. We actually went out the door, and into the gardens. Was this the surprise? I didn't think so, but it could be.

"We're going to Gregory Tower," explained Percy. "Sorry that it's cold out here, the only entrance is through the outdoors. I guess I'll give you a brief history of it." We were walking through the gardens, and the plants were illuminated by the setting sun. The sky was a gorgeous canvas of millions of colors. Different hues of pink, purple, red, and orange. Percy's face was lighted up.

We were still finding our way through the gardens, I had no idea where our destination was. "I suppose I should start from the top," he said. "The palace was built by a man named Daedelus. He was an amazing crafter and an incredible architect. He designed the palace with his son Icarus. Icarus was very reckless and very young. One day, he snuck into his father's workshop and changed the architectural plans, right before Daedelus presented them to the people that would build the palace."

"Luckily, Icarus only changed one thing. He decided that it wouldn't be a palace without a tower, so he added a ten-story tower to the corner of the palace. It was actually a very awkward place for it, and it wasn't very stable. Daedelus realized that his son had made those changes, and demanded that the tower be torn down. But that week, Icarus died of sunstroke. Daedelus decided to keep the tower there, as a memorial. It still stands unfinished there today. And that's where we're going."

Just as he finished his story, we reached our apparent destination. The corner of the palace. I could see the tower, but it certainly wasn't ten stories. I could count only seven, and the highest one was in terrible condition. There was no ceiling, and two of the walls had been destroyed.

Percy pushed a wooden board that had been nailed to the wall aside. It was easy for him to do because the nails were rusted and three were shattered. When the board was moved to the left, a hole in the wall was revealed. It was obviously a doorway that had been intentionally covered. Percy kept holding the door open as he stepped inside, and held my hand as I followed him.

The first floor was actually nicely furnished, something I wasn't expecting. There was a red carpet on the floor, many cabinets against the walls, and a table and chairs in the center. Most of the cabinets were open, and I could see that there were pieces of wood, debris, and tools inside of them. There was nothing to brighten the room, so shadows set across the floor.

"Why is there furniture?" I asked Percy. "Did you start to clean up this tower?" I kept glancing around the room as Percy responded.

"Yeah, we started cleaning it up last year. But when the Selection was declared, we had to halt our progress. The work was loud, and we didn't want to disturb you guys. We also didn't want anyone to know about the tower, because the News Reporters would start freaking out about it," responded Percy.

There was a staircase in the corner, which obviously led to the next floors. "Can we go up?" I questioned. Percy nodded, and chivalrously went in front of me to make sure that everything was safe. The stairs were luckily secure, but I found myself constantly testing them before I took a step.

The second floor was a work in progress. There was a pile of rubble in the corner, on a beige tarp. There were a few lamps placed around, and some abandoned equipment. I felt like I was the main character in a murder mystery written by an overly dramatic author.

Percy and I went up to the third floor after a few moments of poking around and sightseeing. The third was just barely cleaned. There were multiple different piles of rocks, but only two sets of tools. There was a machine that Percy confirmed to be a power-sander and many wooden planks. The workers were apparently repairing the uneven flooring.

The rest of the floors were nearly identical. Each of them hadn't been worked on yet. There were abandoned planks and even an upturned couch on the fifth, along with a multitude of tools and rocks. The only notable floor- besides the first three- was the final one. The Seventh.

That floor was a wreck. The hole I had noticed before was a thousand times more noticeable. "That was a cannonball," Percy explained. "It was a smaller one, luckily. It was aimed for the palace, but this tower got in the way. I suppose that was a good stroke of luck. But it wrecked the ceiling and these walls."

I could see over the palace wall, and I could see the sky. The sun was setting beautifully. I was afraid to get too close because I could fall. But Percy slid right up to the side and dangled his legs over. I joined him there and saw that there was a ledge constructed of wood to keep us from falling.

The sun was falling from the sky, slowly. I couldn't see the moon, it must have been at our backs. But I could see the night sky. "Make a wish," I whispered. "It's a tradition from home. When you see the first star in the sky, you have to wish on it."

Percy looked up at the sky, searching for it. I pointed, and his glance fixated on it. He stayed silent, then breathed "I made my wish. Did you?"

"Yes," I murmured. We kept staring at the sky, and his hand found mine. He held onto it. We stayed there, legs precariously dangling off the side of the tower, staring at the sky, until that single star wasn't alone. Thousands more appeared. The sun disappeared, and the moon found its glowing place in the center of it all. That moment was perfect.

 **My computer erased half of my progress, _again_. Sorry for the slow update, see the above excuse for it. So, Annabeth had her photoshoot and her date with Percy. More of the Selected have been revealed. Gregory Tower's secret is unveiled. **

**We're at 99 reviews! That'll be a hundred by next chapter, hopefully. My thanks to everyone for being so supportive. Now, some review prompts if necessary:**

 **1\. Guess: How will The Report go? (That's next chapter, hopefully).  
**

 **2\. Who will be eliminated next? Why?**

 **3\. What are some date ideas? This could be for Annabeth, or with any other girl.**

 **Again, thank you's to everyone for being so awesome. See you next chapter, bye!**

 **-Meistar**


	15. Tempers and Tours

**Wow- we're above 100 reviews! Thank you to everyone that helped support that by reviewing. You're all fantastic, and I appreciate every word you wrote. Thank you.**

 **Now I'll respond to reviews. There were quite a few. Only four for the last chapter, but quite a few new ones for the previous chapters. To fix some confusion: All of the Selected are female demigods from Rick Riordan's books. There are no OC's. The only exceptions to this rule are Rachel Dare (She's mortal, but I still included her), Kelli (Empousai, but a good character to include) and Doris and Lulu, (I'm not sure if they're demigods, they could be legacies. Their godly parents are unknown). Athenachild101: Chiara Benvenuti is not an OC, she's in Trials of Apollo. Tibaski: Castles are rooks. They're the same thing, but the word "Castle" is more old-fashioned. That's why I used it. Also, Juniper is not in the Selection. Sorry. And yes, Thalia will be punk. That'll be addressed later.**

 **On with the chapter!**

Gwendolyn Brass had been sent home yesterday.

It was puzzling since nobody had noticed until the next day. I had done a head count yesterday at the photo-shoot, and I'd noticed that somebody was missing. But I hadn't guessed the person, because I didn't know the faces well enough yet. She had been missing that day.

Gwen hadn't made any friends during her time, so nobody noticed she was gone. As harsh as it sounded, it was understandable. If one girl was missing, it was automatically assumed that she was on a date, or in the bathroom, or just avoiding the group. And there were so many girls in our large group, which now contained twenty-four people.

We hadn't noticed she wasn't there until somebody noticed that she was absent at breakfast. Lou Ellen apparently noticed that the place-settings at the tables had been altered and figured out who was missing. The word spread up and down the dining tables until it finally reached me. And I came to my conclusion.

Percy was eliminating by caste. Since the first day, he had eliminated all but one Seven, the entirety of the Sixes, and four of six Fives. He had only dated people so far with a caste lower than Four. The lowest person left was Miranda Gardner. Right now she was quaking in her seat, obviously terrified. She had figured out the system at the same time I had.

But he wouldn't eliminate Miranda. She acted like a One, with her maturity and poise. And that left two other low castes: Lou Ellen Blackstone, and myself.

So our date hadn't happened because I had made a good impression. It was because of my number, my position. I had no doubt that if I had made even one mistake, I would be on the train home at this very moment. I thought I was special, but I was clearly mistaken. Perseus Jackson was like every other self-centered liar with a high caste. He wasn't any different.

This anger sat in my stomach, but I tried my hardest to conceal it. I harshly grabbed the tongs and stabbed a muffin, slamming it onto my plate. Luckily, nobody noticed, and the muffin squished and broke apart instead of creating a loud noise. I cut the pastry in half, watching the raspberry filling inside of it seep out and create a pool of red on my plate. I refused to eat it, putting the tongs back and staring vehemently at the baked treat.

I wouldn't eat that muffin. I knew that I was being ridiculous, but it was satisfying to watch it get soaked in the filling. Besides, I had already eaten enough before. The large clock above the door to the Great Room told me that it was finally 9:00, meaning breakfast was over.

Everybody stood up from their chairs. Many fidgetted, fixing their dresses and wiping off stains with napkins. I spotted Percy trying to make eye contact with me. I pretended to not notice and headed for the door, finding myself in the middle of a large pack of girls. We exited the Dining Room and headed toward the Women's Room, but I went a different direction. I veered left towards the Library.

The time it took to reach the library annoyed me. Percy had told me last night about Daedalus, the incredible architect that had designed the palace. But I kept looking around and spotting things I would change about this old place. For one, the building was completely rectangular, save for Gregory Tower. Rectangular buildings were easy to design and build, but relatively unimpressive. For another, the essential places you went to often were distanced away from each other. It would be much more convenient if Daedalus had thought about where the rooms needed to be.

I finally got to the library and strode through the doors, instantly noticing the thick smell of potpourri. I headed for the Thriller section, selecting a thick grey volume. _To be Funny_ , by Gary Larsonell. The summary seemed high-quality, so I pulled it off of the shelf and took it to a table. You were allowed to read books from the library without checking them out if the book stayed in the library.

The story was very rich in detail, which I could appreciate. It was about a girl named Danielle Gorger, who got a job pumping gas at a gas station in Oklahoma after moving from New Jersey to Tulsa. But when she got there, she realized that the station had been leased, and her apartment in Tulsa had been ransacked by the police. Later, she discovered that this wasn't a coincidence. Accidents began to plague her until the culprit revealed themselves as a comedic teacher from a Law Institute.

The book was quite lengthy, so after an hour of reading, I decided to check it out and bring it to my room, to have something to do later. I was still angry at Percy, but less so since the book had provided a distraction.

I closed the book, after committing the page number to memory, and went to the librarian's desk. I had gotten to know the librarian, an incredibly short woman named Esther. She could barely see over her black desk, which considerably lengthened the amount of time it took to check out _To be Funny_. But she was sweet and apologetic, so I didn't mind.

Once Esther finished scanning my book, she handed it to me, saying "Have a great time reading this!" After exiting the library, I decided to head up to my room.

The moment I opened the door, I was met with a buzz of energy. My three maids were in my room, seemingly chatting and taking notes. They all instantly noticed me and darted to their feet, each of them curtsying in synchronous motion. I waved my hand at them, and they stopped, returning to their seats.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked them. They had gone back to their activities, sketching something on a paper that looked suspiciously like a dress.

Mellie was the first to speak. She was always the most confident of the group. "We're designing your dress for The Report tonight. Would you like to take a look?" She pulled out a chair for me, so I took a seat and gazed at the hasty sketch. There was a blobbish figure that obviously represented me, and a detailed dress drew onto me.

The gown was gorgeous. It had a collared neckline, which I absolutely adored. It was a gown that would go down to my feet and had no sleeves. The dress was cinched at the waist. Next to the sketch was another paper, with a list of possible accessories to pair with it.

"I love it," I said. "It's exactly what I wanted. What color will it be?" The picture was in black and white, so I couldn't tell what color it would be. And I had my suspicions, based on my own actions.

Ella looked away from the design. "Yesterday you said that you wanted it blue, Miss. Have you revised your opinion on that?"

I had a decision to make. Let my angry feelings influence my dress, or stay sweet and hide my feelings. I was furious with Percy for eliminating girls by caste. But at the same time, the color of a dress was a ridiculous thing to be angry at. Still, my feelings won in this round. "Yes, I would like to revise that. Besides, I'm sure that many girls will be going in blue. I'd like a different color, please. What would you recommend?" I said.

My maids all started murmuring amongst each other. I tuned out their voices until they finally finished consulting. "We think you should go in peach and white," announced Gloria. "Or purple. Purple will make you look mature, but peach and white will distinguish you from everyone else."

"I'll go in purple," I found myself saying. "It will reflect the ideals I'm trying to present here, and it'll look better with this dress. Maybe with some white highlights, though? It would distinguish me, as you said before."

Ella picked up a set of colored pencils as she responded. "Perfect, Miss! We'll do just that. But we have to start working now that we have a plan, there are only a few hours until The Report begins." She grabbed the rest of her supplies and set them in a messenger bag, and the three maids fled the room.

I was left to wait in my room. The entire time I was there, many thoughts filled my mind. My anger with Percy. What The Report would turn out to be like. And my family back home. The last thought prompted me to get out some thick paper and an envelope, and I began to write a letter to my family.

 _Bobby and Matthew,_

 _How are you two doing? Those school photos you sent were very nice, you guys looked great. How is school? Tell me everything. Sorry that I haven't responded much yet. Bobby: don't worry, all the "Gross Romance stuff" will not be included in this message. That's all in Helen's. Matthew: Sorry, I can't send cake yet. But if you save up your allowances, maybe you can get some. I love you both._

 _Helen,_

 _Hello, Helen. This is Annabeth. You told me to tell you everything in your last message, so I suppose I will. The prince asked me on a date the other day. It was great. Today is The Report, so make sure to watch it with the rest of the family. My maids should be making my dress right now. They're really sweet- names are Mellie, Ella, and Gloria. The palace is gorgeous. It's huge! There must be millions of rooms. The moment you think you've seen every room, another one appears. You'd love the Women's Room. It's a room where only women can come in, no guys. And the food here is delicious too. I wish you were here to experience it all. Thinking of you all the time._

 _Frederick,_

 _Hey, dad. I have a lot to tell you. Percy asked me on a date the other day. We went to this abandoned tower. It was amazing! The top floor had been destroyed by a cannonball, so there was a huge hole and you could see the night sky. There are twenty-four of us here now, the numbers dwindle so fast. But I have a theory. Percy's eliminating by caste. All of the Sixes and nearly all of the Sevens are gone. And there are only two fives left- I'm one of them. I don't want to marry someone that discriminates like that. But when I met him, he seemed too happy and innocent to do any of that. I just don't know why he'd do that. But if he continues to do so, I might come home. I don't know what to do. Please respond soon, I need some advice._

 _To everyone: I love you, and I hope you're all doing good. Bye._

 _-Annabeth_

That was all I had to say. I looked over the letter dozens of times, but I couldn't find any other way to phrase anything. I finally folded the paper in half and sealed it into the envelope, and the message went on its way towards my home.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Percy's POV:

Yes, I was eliminating by caste. But not by choice.

My father had demanded that I remove the lower class girls from the Selection. In any other situation, I would've refused to do so. But I couldn't now, because of the leverage he was holding over my head. My sister, Estelle. She would be married off to some faceless prince from France if I didn't remove these girls.

It was like there was an internal scale in my mind. On one side was my sister, and on the other were those girls. And my sister weighed much more, she was dragging her side toward the floor, lifting the others into the air. I couldn't lose Estelle, she was my best friend.

All of the Sixes were gone. It wasn't actually very difficult to eliminate the lower castes. Most of them lacked manners and social skills or just weren't right for me. There was only one Seven left, Miranda Gardiner. She was at the edge of a cliff, with very little weight in my mind.

Miranda was nearly identical to Katie Gardner. They both had the same interests, the same last name. They were also best friends. But Miranda was very mature, perhaps even more so than Katie. She didn't act or look like a Seven, she acted and looked like a Two. That was what was keeping her here- the fact that she didn't belong in her caste. In my mind, that was sick- keeping someone only because they were the best of the low.

Something in my mind told me that eliminating the lower girls wasn't fair. The moment that they had been Selected, they had all been turned into Threes. But my father was holding Estelle as leverage, and I knew that the News would go nuts if the lower casted girls stayed here for too long.

I had to eliminate Miranda, my father had ordered it. But I knew that it would have to wait until after the Report. So now I would take up my free time by seeing another girl that showed more promise. A girl I hadn't met with yet. Chiara Benvenuti, from Clermont. Our first meeting had been very fun, and she had seemed to be stressless.

So that was what I was doing now- going to Chiara's room for our first date. I'd informed her yesterday of our plans to tour the palace, and she had eagerly accepted.

Now I was at her door. It was a large, brown door. All of the doors in this hallway were white, which made me wonder why hers was not. I knocked on the door, and it was instantly opened by a redheaded maid I didn't recognize. Chiara was there, in a brown dress. She seemed demure, yet fashionable. "Hello, Perseus," she said. "You're early." Her cheeks were slightly pink, but I couldn't imagine why. At least, until I saw that she didn't have any shoes on yet.

"Sorry," I apologized. "Should I come back later?" I could sense her answer before she even responded.

Chiara shook her head no, saying "Of course not! You're only a few minutes early. Just let me put on some shoes." She darted around a corner, and I heard some shuffling. Then she returned in a pair of white flats, which were quickly covered by her dress. "Okay, let's go," she confirmed.

We set off toward the first floor. Chiara began letting me know where she had been so far- The Women's Room, the Doctor's Office, the Dining Hall, the Photography Room, and the Great Room. That was honestly not very many places, she obviously needed a better tour of the place. I led her all the way to the front doors, where she got a glimpse of the driveway and fountain. Apparently, Chiara had come into the palace through the back, so she'd never seen the main entrance.

After a quick glance of the outdoors, we migrated towards the Waiting Room- the place people first saw as they came into the Palace. It was a professional room, with rows of grey chairs. Next to it was the Lounge, a room with multi-colored chairs and couches that were seemingly thrown randomly around the room.

By the time we had reached the art gallery, two hours had passed. Chiara's eyes widened as she saw the clock. "Goodness! Sorry to cut things short, but The Report starts in an hour, and I need to get ready."

I agreed with her, saying "Of course, Chiara. I have to prepare as well. I'll see you at dinner, good luck." We darted up to the stairs, where we were about to depart. "My dear, I am afraid that the minutes are ticking down," I said. "Will you be alright getting to your room?"

"Definitely," she said, but she seemed slightly deflated. I hadn't the slightest clue as to why, so I just awkwardly waved goodbye until she turned a corner and I lost sight of her. The moment that she was out of range, I turned around and darted up the staircase towards my room. I had to get ready. I was the Prince, it was practically against the laws of nature for me to be late. Unfortunately, I had broken that rule too many times. And this time wouldn't be one of them. I quickened my pace.

I finally reached my destination, which was my room. Inside, I saw the familiar face of my tailor, Cecil- who promptly ushered me inside my own room and began yapping about what I was going to wear for Thre Report. I interrupted him when he started on feather placement. "Markowitz, I'm sticking with a suit. Can you choose one, and a tie? Thank you."

Cecil pouted, but quickly found me a grey suit and purple tie. I nearly objected to the ridiculously colored tie but gave up that idea when Cecil started ranting about his ex-girlfriend.

An hour later, I stumbled out of there. I swiftly headed for The Report room, when a group of stylists pushed me into a makeover room and began combing my hair. Damn, I had nearly avoided them- but to no avail. My hair was apparently too annoying to tame though. When they let me loose, it was just as tangled and disheveled as before.

After they finished, I stumbled into the Report room. None of the girls had arrived yet, except for one. Annabeth was sitting in the first row of chairs set out for the Selected, obviously bored. Her dress was the exact same shade of purple as my own, only with white highlights. I hoped that nobody would notice. Of course, my luck was terrifically horrible. Apollo chose to stride up just then and instantly pointed out "Wow, you guys look like twins!"

Annabeth's head snapped up, and she noticed me for the first time. Her eyes went wide, and she crossed her arms over her chest. I tried to stay cool, stating to Apollo "Oh, what a coincidence!" I gave a short laugh, which nobody else in the room echoed. Apollo strode away, after hearing Artemis call for him.

I was about to go and talk to Annabeth, but Hermes called me over. "Percy, we're going unscripted and live, like normal. We're editing out many things since the public is demanding more time to learn about the Selected girls. We're cutting my own time in half to inform the public of recent news, we can leave that to other channels. Here's a page on what will be included tonight," he said, handing me a sheet of blue-dyed paper.

The timetables seemed correct, so I nodded and handed the page back to him. "When were these developed?" I asked him.

"Just yesterday, at 9:00 AM," answered Hermes. "Do you have any problems with that?" His eyes became preoccupied with the Selected girls that were arriving. I saw Calypso take a seat in the front row, directly next to Annabeth. They began to chat, and I saw Annabeth glance at me.

Her head snapped away from me as soon as she saw me looking back. I turned my attention toward Hermes. "Yes, there is a problem. Gwendolyn Brass was sent home yesterday, and her time is still in this schedule. You should collapse her time and absorb it into your own segment."

Hermes nodded, already crossing out her time and adding "+seven mins" in his time segment. "Thank you for that edit, Percy. I will inform every else with a copy of the timetable so that there are no mixups," Hermes told me. He promptly raced off toward a group of people with the same blue papers.

Just as he did so, the lights of The Report room dimmed. I saw the cameras moving to surround the set. Spotlights turned on, beaming from the ceiling and illuminating the room. All of the girls were sitting in their chairs now, and everyone on the set scurried away.

I saw a camera flicker on and realized I should take my own seat. I rushed to reach my armchair, placed downstage left. By the time I did so, all of the cameras were on. Photographers sped for their cameras. They manned the large machines, pointing them towards Apollo and Artemis- who were both entering from stage right.

Just like that, The Report began. And I couldn't help but wonder how it would turn out.

 **Yay- the next chapter! Percy is eliminating by caste. Estelle will be married off if Percy doesn't act well. The date with Chiara went well. Annabeth's angry at Percy. The Report is next chapter. Your review prompts:**

 **1\. Which POV should I use for The Report?** **2\. What do you think will happen in The Report?** **3\. Who will receive the next date, and who will be eliminated next?**

 **That's it for today, bye. See you all next chapter.**

 **-Meistar**


	16. Report and Reflections

**Thank you so much for those reviews from the last chapter, I treasure each and every one of them. "Fanfic Lover," you are sweet and thank you so much for that lengthy review. It was great to hear from you. More thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and PM'ed. On with the chapter! Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or The Selection.**

Annabeth's POV:

The lights dimmed, and cameras flickered on from all across the room. The screens of these cameras sort of illuminated the photographer's faces, but not in a good way. No, this lighting seemed eerie instead of mysterious or dramatic. I glanced at the other Selected girls. Beside me, Piper Mclean was smiling brilliantly, and Calypso Atlas was straightening her posture.

I had nearly forgotten- they were both experienced in modeling. Piper Mclean was a famous singer from Bonita, and Calypso Atlas was a model and clothing designer from Waverly. It was no surprise that they had both sat next to one of the lower-casted people in the Selection, me. They were probably sitting near the worst cases to elevate themselves.

But I couldn't permit that. They wouldn't use me to climb higher. I copied their stances, sitting up straight and forcing a small smile. As I did so, the lights got brighter again. Apollo Solace and Artemis Nightshade both entered the room. Apollo was in a ridiculously colored yellow suit, while Artemis was wearing a deep blue vest dress that went just past her knees.

The Report was beginning.

Hermes Castellan strode onto the stage, taking note of everyone on the set. He had a set of notecards in his hands. He began listing off some news, but his time was cut short earlier than usual. He reluctantly left the stage, and Apollo and Artemis took it from there. "Hello, Illéa!" called out Apollo. From a large set of speakers, the sounds of an audience hooting and cheering were simulated.

Artemis and Apollo took their seats in white designer chairs placed in the middle of the set. We were behind them, to the right. And the royal family was seated to the left of us. Speaking of the royal family- They all stood up from their chairs and took seats up front with Apollo and Artemis. Right, this was their segment.

"So, we have some questions for you," announced Artemis. "First, for Perseus. We've realized that most of the lower casted girls are gone. Is there a reason for this?" Wow, they jumped right into that. I could swear that question hadn't been in the script, but maybe I had missed something.

Percy looked panicked, but he regained his composure after a quick glance at his father. "Well, most of those ones were less pleasant than the others. Some of them were quite rude, and I noticed this in our first meeting. I decided that it would be easier to remove them quickly, because we didn't need another Hyperion Jackson, right?" His wispy attempt at a joke registered with the two reporters, and they both laughed.

I understood that joke, but that didn't make it any better. Hyperion Jackson was one of Percy's ancestors on his royal side. He had extended his Selection to last several years. There were many theories that suggested he was polygamous, which was unheard of in the Royal Family. He was very well known for declaring war on the Southern African Democratic Nation and then surrendering the very next day. Nobody had really liked him.

Apollo decided to move on. "Let's continue. I myself have a question for Estelle. What do you think of the Selected? Do you have any favorites?"

It was the first time I'd noticed Estelle all day. She hadn't been in the spotlight for a while, but that didn't mean I didn't know her. She was the famous princess, the first princess in three generations. Her dress today was gorgeous, a golden dress that went to her feet in a mermaid style. All of the mermaid style dresses I had seen up to this point had been worn by the more seductive girls, but this one was on the opposite side of the spectrum. It was the long, golden sleeves that made it seem more mature.

Estelle answered the question quite quickly. "They all seem like sweet girls, but it's not my place to judge them. I'm not the one making the decisions, Perseus is." After that answer, Percy sat up in his chair. Nobody seemed to notice, which made me wonder why I had.

"And what do you think of the choices Perseus has made up to this point, Sally?" asked Artemis. I noticed how informal she was being with the queen, making me wonder if the twins were family friends or something like that. Honestly, it didn't sound too far fetched.

I turned my gaze to Sally Jackson as she answered the question. "I think whomever he chooses will be a perfect choice, I trust his decisions," she responded. She used the perfect wording, answering the question fairly and kindly. I found myself liking the queen even more, despite the fact that I hadn't met her in person yet.

"And what about you, your Majesty? What are your views on this matter?" asked Apollo. Everyone directed their attention toward the king, but I found myself looking at Percy.

The king spoke loudly, but with a soft tone- a strange combination, but it seemed to work. "In my own Selection, the first eliminations were the easiest, for obvious reasons. There was always a large factor that determined their leaving. Maybe they yelled at me in their first meeting, or they were foul mannered towards the other Selected. After these first eliminations, things will actually get serious."

It was an excellent answer, and it somewhat soothed my doubts until I remembered that Percy was eliminating by caste. There was no way around that. I was sure that Miranda, Lou Ellen, Bianca Di Angelo, and myself would be eliminated soon as well, and it made me angry that my caste had limited me again. But that spark of anger fueled a desire, a desire to prove them all wrong, and to win this foolish competition.

All (or most) of my anger towards Percy dissolved as a fire began stroking my heart, replaced with a desire to win. And that was my goal now, to show everyone just how powerful I could be, regardless of my caste that held me back. Because I was Annabeth Chase, and I could most certainly achieve this.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Percy's POV:

That was a close call. Those unscripted questions had come out of nowhere and shocked me. Of course, the news crews were bound to notice that only the lower casted girls were gone, but I wasn't expecting Artemis and Apollo to confront me about it on live television. I'm sure that it was intentional that they did it live too because it would've been edited out if they hadn't.

My father was furious with the twins. He was yelling at them in the office attached to this room. Even the stone walls couldn't hold back the noise of his yelling. I only caught a few words, ranging from _"disrespectful and treasonous"_ to " _I may have you two caned!"_ But I knew that he would simmer down soon, and his anger was fairly justified. The two had made the Royal Family look bad on television. Thank god for our quick thinking, otherwise, that could've been a disaster.

I was still a bit afraid of how the public would react, but there wasn't a thing I could do to affect their reactions. It was difficult, but I had come to terms with it. Nearly.

While the news and Royal Family's interview had been live, the interviews of the Selected would not be. There was a simple reason for this, timing. Each of them would have to have the exact same amount of time on screen, meaning editors would have to cut down most of the footage. Each interview would last about fifteen minutes, but it would be edited down to a much shorter time.

The Selected were all busy getting prepped. Makeup teams were going around them, fixing any errors in their cosmetics that had occurred in the past half hour. Many of the girl's maids were going around and giving them advice and encouragement in hushed voices. Some girls were taking a bathroom break, or even putting on extra jewelry.

I spotted Annabeth, who was having a discussion with the girl next to her. I recognized the one next to her as Piper Mclean, a singer from Bonita. She was quite famous, and it was strange to see her interacting so easily with Annabeth. They were, after all, different caste levels. I admired both of them for being so open to chat with someone so different from each other.

After the lengthy intermission, the cameras were turned on again and the lights dimmed. I found my own position next to Estelle, on a couch just far enough to not be in view of the cameras. I wouldn't be in this special, only the Selected and the Reporters would be. Nearly everyone had cleared out of the room. I had decided to stay behind because I had to choose who to take on a date next- and who to eliminate next.

My father had told me that I needed to make another elimination by tomorrow. We were already down to twenty-four girls, so it seemed a little bit unnecessary to be taking this so fast. But Estelle's forced marriage was at risk, and I had to make sure that she would be here as long as possible.

Speaking of Estelle- she was beside me. Estelle had always been very loyal, but also very curious. She wanted to stay beside me today and learn what was up with these girls. I couldn't wait to hear her opinion on them.

"Remember to refresh me on their names and basic stats, Perce," she reminded me. "Every time that a new girl is called up, just tell me their name, province, what you think of them, and if you've been on a date with them." I couldn't blame Estelle for not remembering, I was still trying to memorize all of their names.

Estelle and I hushed as the lights came back in full strength and The Report began again. This time it wasn't live, and I could tell that many girls were much less stressed than they had been before. After all, if they did anything stupid or stumbled on their words, the public wouldn't know.

The first girl to be called up was Phoebe Ambar. "She's from Hansport," I whispered to my sister. "Phoebe Ambar is her name. She's very kind and a great public speaker, since she's a professional speaker and protestor. I haven't been on a date with her yet, but I'm planning to go with her to the Art Gallery."

To prove my point, Phoebe only took a few minutes to finish her interview. She was an incredible speaker and didn't stutter. Her volume was perfect, and her voice was enriched with smoothness. She was definitely one of the best talkers here. "I like her," reacted Estelle. "I just kind of like the way she carries herself. She seems confident."

Once Phoebe was done, she left the room and headed for the Women's Room. I'd never been in there, but I did know where it was. The next girl up was one I knew very well because her pictures were plastered across nearly every magazine in Illléa. "That's Calypso Atlas," I explained, but Estelle wove me off with a casual flip of her hand.

"I know who Calypso is Percy, I'm not stupid. She's famous for modeling. Oh, she's gorgeous," sighed my sister. "But I still don't like her." Estelle pouted and I laughed. "But I love how she looks now. I've seen her pictures, she's usually caked with makeup. I love how she's taken that down, maybe she does have a chance."

Estelle was correct. I had seen those magazine photos as well, and usually, her face looked like it had been painted. Sure, it looked nice- but the heavy makeup wasn't usually my type. Now she had made herself look natural and bright and young, and it was a great look on her. She was wearing a white dress with hints of lavender, which went with her look.

Again, an easy interview. Calypso had experience with television and speaking on camera, so this came as no surprise to me. She smoothly answered everything and left the room in under five minutes. Unfortunately, the next girl wasn't as lucky. "That's Lacy Lufu, from Ottaro," I explained to my sister as Lacy walked up to the cameras. Her legs were wobbling. "She seems shy and timid, but was very kind when I interviewed her."

"Yeesh," said Estelle. "You kind of _need_ to be good at public speaking if you're going to be a Royal. It's one of the largest parts of the job." Lacy was now answering questions in a mouse's voice, and I mentally cringed.

It took them fifteen minutes to get good enough footage of her. I noticed that most of the other Selected seemed to be dying of boredom. They all seemed quite happy when Lacy finally stopped slowing them down and left for the Women's Room. Harsh, but true. After Lacy was a girl named Silena Beauregard, who was average on camera- not amazing, but not terrible either.

Miranda and Katie came after Silena, in that order. First was Miranda. "She is a Seven, but acts like a Two," I remarked in the direction of Estelle. "She's from Hudson. And she has the exact same last name as Katie Gardner, only spelled differently. They have the same interests, which both include gardens and flowers."

Estelle gave a soft whistle right as Miranda left. It was hard to hear, but I was glad she had chosen to make the shrill noise in the brief break between the girls, while they weren't filming. "Father's going to make you eliminate one of them soon," she whispered back. "They're nearly identical. Who would you get rid of?"

I weighed her queries in my head. Who did I like more? They were so similar and yet so different, it was difficult to tell. I finally settled on "I have no idea, Stell. I'll figure it out soon." Estelle was correct, I would need to get rid of one of them. But who? Favorite the lower and possibly offend a higher-caste family, or eliminate the lower and risk an attack from rebels?

My deeper thoughts were interrupted by Apollo wishing Katie a good day, and Katie leaving The Report room. As he called the next name, I leaned forward and listened in. "Annabeth Chase, you're up next," announced Apollo. She stood up from the first row and without looking back, crossed over to the seat that was designated for the interviewees.

"That's Annabeth," I whispered to Estelle. "She's the Five from Angeles. Remember that scandal with Georgina? She's her replacement. I've been on a date with her, it was quite pleasant. I haven't gotten to know her very well yet. We unofficially met before the Selection twice, both times on accident. The first time, it was in the library. You heard about that one. But the second time, it was during the rebel attack. That meeting was hushed up by dad and the guards. She was crying and shaking. She seems very timid but very curious."

My voice was very quiet since I was revealing classified information in a room full of cameras. Estelle nodded unsuspiciously, and I was glad she was such a good actor. The interview hadn't started yet, the photographers were testing the cameras. My sister responded in a tone similar to my own.

"I like her, but I think you don't know her well enough yet. I had a meeting with the head guard yesterday, Luke Castellan. They were friends, remember? I asked what he thought about her. If I have gotten anything from that discussion with him, it's that Annabeth Chase is not timid nor shy. In fact, I think it's exactly the opposite," responded Stell. "I bet she wants to be heard. I dunno, it's just the impression I got from her."

The cameras finally began rolling, leaving me to ponder what Estelle had said. She was very good at reading people, she got that from my mother. Apollo began the discussion just then. "Hello, Annabeth Chase. Might I ask how you are doing currently?"

Annabeth was softly smiling the entire time that he spoke. Her posture was perfect. "Yes, you may," she joked. "And I am doing very well, thank you."

This was clearly all just formalities, and they ended very quickly. Artemis then took the lead in the conversation. "So Annabeth, you are definitely standing out from the other girls. You'll recall, I assume, that Georgina Abbott was drawn as the Selected Candidate from Angeles." Wow, that took a turn very quickly. I should've known that they were going to interrogate her on this matter, I should've told Annabeth what to expect.

Luckily, Annabeth instantly changed the tune. Her head went up towards the twins, and her posture got even straighter. Was that even possible, since it was perfect before? She didn't respond in a cold tone, more like a formal one. "And then she contracted a disease, and they drew me instead," she responded. I felt that I could trust her to keep this scandal under wraps.

Apollo seemed a bit too bright and cheery as he questioned her. "So Annabeth, do you think it's fair that you arrived early to the palace? And did you meet the Prince before the other girls?" Oh goodness, I was worried now. Had anybody informed her that she was supposed to lie on that question? I wanted to smack myself for not speaking to her sooner, the reporters were eating up her reactions like a piece of meat.

But her reaction didn't falter from the formality she'd set down earlier. "I do think it's fair since I was so far behind. There's a lot you don't realize about the Selection until you participate in it. And the largest thing you don't realize is the amount of paperwork and forms at the beginning. And no, I did not meet Prince Perseus before everyone else did. Our guards and aides were instructed to keep us apart, and they did their job well."

That was a better answer than I could've ever spun up. Her lie was flawless and undetectable already. But when she covered it with that side information about the paperwork, it would be impossible to doubt her.

Artemis kept speaking, asking yet another question. "So, have you been on a date with the Prince yet?" Oh, great. Another topic she was forbidden to discuss. I wasn't supposed to go to Gregory Tower, let alone bring a Selected with me. It was a dangerous area, and there weren't any guards. I prayed that she wouldn't answer truthfully about where we had gone.

She presented a bright smile. "Yes, I did just two days ago." Artemis nodded and beckoned her to continue, so she did. "We had a very nice dinner together, and went stargazing when it got dark enough." Again, the lie rolled straight off of her tongue. It hit me then that nobody besides myself and Annabeth knew where we'd gone that night. How did she know to lie here too?

I had too many questions swirling around my head to pay attention to the interview, so I stopped listening to the interview. Estelle seemed bored out of her mind, so we decided to leave the Report Room when Annabeth finished her interview. Stell and I stood up and left at the exact time she did, putting us a few feet ahead of her since we were closer to the door.

The door to the Report room was opened for us by a crimson-clad guard. Estelle and I strode down the hallway together, and I did my best to forget that Annabeth was there. Stell excused herself when we reached an intersection of the hallway, saying that she wanted to take a nap before dinner began. That left me in a hallway subjunction with Annabeth.

There were only a few people in the hallway. A group of about five maids that were very far away from us, and about six patrolling guards. But nobody close. So I guess you could say that we were alone. "Hello, Annabeth," I began, stopping in the middle of the hallway. "I was wondering: What compelled you to lie on that question about our visit to Gregory Tower?" I couldn't call it a date. Not yet.

Her eyes went wide. "Oh, no. Sorry, I just got the impression during our date that we weren't supposed to be there. I'm so sorry if that was inaccurate, but at the time you kept glancing over your shoulder and there were no guards and it just seemed like a shady place. Was I wrong?" she sputtered and rambled. Again, I got the impression that she was timid, but maybe Estelle was correct about me being wrong.

"No, no. You're fine. I just wanted to thank you for keeping that under wraps. We weren't exactly permitted up there," I responded in a low voice. "Well- thank you. I suppose I've said it now." I was now embarrassed for no particular reason, so I dialed around towards the spiral staircase at the end of the hallway.

Before I could get far, she called out: "Percy?" Again, I turned and faced toward her. She grinned and whispered, "You're welcome." After those two rapid words, she wheeled around and headed off for the Women's Room. I headed the other way, towards the staircase. Yes, I was thinking about Annabeth. But not the way she had been confident on The Report, or how we'd broken so many rules together already.

I was thinking about what my father would do if I kept her here. Because that was the sad truth: she was a Five. And this morning, Poseidon had explained to me that I had to eliminate everyone below a Four within the next week to keep my sister from being married off to a stranger. I now had a decision to make, and it wasn't a fun one.

 **Fantastic, this chapter is finally up! I'm so sorry for taking this long, I was extremely busy. Everyone below a four (Lou Ellen, Annabeth, Miranda, and Bianca) have to be kicked out, or Estelle will be married off. The Report finally occurred, and Artemis and Apollo had a lot to ask Annabeth. Estelle thinks that Annabeth isn't what she seems, and Annabeth had to lie on national television.**

 **Your review prompts (These are optional, just so you know):**

 **1\. Will Percy eliminate everyone below a Four to keep Estelle safe? 2. What will happen next in the Selection? 3. Will Percy choose to eliminate Katie or Miranda? 4. What POV should I use next?**

 **Again, thank you so much for reviews, follows, and favorites. See you all next chapter, bye!**

 **-Meistar**


	17. A message to reviewers

Hello, fellow fanfiction-ers!

Wow, we have quite a lot to discuss. I apologize if you weren't involved in the conflict that took place in the reviews and you're being punished for the actions of other people. If you weren't mixed up in that mess, feel free to _just skip_ this chapter, and I'm very sorry to waste your time.

I suppose I should summarize what happened. Somebody reviewed saying that I should update and that they had nearly lost interest since I hadn't written recently. (My apologies for not doing so, this time of year is busy for many people). However, that's not the point. The point is that a battle began in the reviews, one that was hurtful to me and several reviewers.

Basically, somebody responded to that review by reviewing themselves, saying that the review wasn't exactly phrased in the kindest way. That review honestly was very sincere and beneficial, so thank you for writing it. But the original reviewer responded, and soon multiple people were in a verbal battle.

I'm not going to announce what people said. I'm most likely going to delete those comments, but if you find yourself curious as to what went down, you may go satisfy your curiosity. There's not anything I can do to stop you, so go right on ahead and do what you want.

Now, to the actual reason I'm writing this: A note to my reviewers. I seem to be sorry about quite a few things I shouldn't need to be sorry about, and interrupting my writing with a useless chapter is one of them. My apologies, but the people reviewing all didn't have accounts so I couldn't PM them to solve an issue.

Back on topic. My message is quite simple. _Stop harassing each other online._ If you have something rude to say, don't say it. And more, don't post it online! Now those comments are immortalized in a few gigabytes of code forever, anybody could see things like what was said here and be offended! I'm offended!

I'm not going to name names, but there were definitely some attacks posted that I didn't approve of, and they all came from one person. My note to them: You need to stay away. You were extremely offensive and hurtful in all of the worst ways. Fanfiction sites aren't the place for you to blow off steam.

Guess what: I don't care if you're having real-life troubles. I don't care if you were "Just joking" or "Not trying to be rude." Those are just excuses, and I am sure as hell that you knew that. Besides, you have NO PLACE to judge, humiliate, or insult people you've never met. Don't be an idiot, don't be a jerk.

Cyberbullying isn't a joke. Harassment isn't either. And _both of them_ just took place. Where? On a _review page of a fanfiction website._ That place isn't a Youtube comment section, it's not a photo-album filled to the brim with hate comments. It's a place where you type positive things about something that someone wrote because it's based on something you both love. This is a community, not two clans from the Middle Ages about to go to war.

But I saw no community in that. I saw a bully insulting and belittling three other kind commenters. I saw cussing, and arguing, and insulting, and words exchanged that should have never even been thought. I saw five comments with vulgar language and major insults that are likely _never_ going to be forgotten by the individuals they were aimed at.

Words cannot express how _furious_ I am right now.

Next chapter will be posted by tomorrow, max. See you then. And if anyone wants to know what happened, feel free to PM me. I'd be happy to educate since I don't want this to occur again in the future. Online harassment doesn't belong here.

I'm ashamed of the person who made the decision to review such hateful things. And if that is you, (I have no doubt that that specific reviewer is reading this now) then remember: Stay away from that review box. I will report every review you post on my fanfiction from now on unless I see a written out apology and kind reviews from now and forward.

Keep in mind everyone, I really do appreciate your reviews. I've read each and every message you've sent me multiple times, and I try to follow suggestions and use your feedback to improve the story. But reviews that are insulting other people are expected to stop, NOW.

The next chapter of "A Certain Spark" will not write itself, so I'd better go now. And I expect everyone to be _mature and civil_ in the reviews. I'll see you next chapter.

-Meistar


	18. Diplomats and Dinners

**Hello peoples! A quick note to reviewers: For the POV, there were many options. Estelle and Percy had the most votes, so I'll be one of their points of view this chapter. (Probably Percy, he is pretty important this chapter. Estelle will be next).**

 **Reviews: FanficLover: As for Thaluke, know that I've heard you. I'm just evil, so you're going to have to wait. Strawberrygirl200: Thank you so much, that's extremely sweet. Your reviews are always extremely helpful and heartwarming, thank you for each and every one of them. IHateTorpedoes: OMG thank you! Guest: Okay, okay! Please, don't sing Frozen lyrics! Here's your chapter! Penny: Thank you so much for reviewing, you're freaking amazing. I'm doing okay, I was just extremely busy.**

 **Secondly, apologies for the seventeenth chapter. I understand it wasted quite a few people's times, it wasted my own time as well. I want my reviews to** **only** **contain things about my fanfiction. If you have anything to say about the verbal battle that went down, please PM me instead of immortalizing it in the review section, where it doesn't belong. Don't respond to the troll, that only fuels more comments from them. Thanks! Now, for my apology:**

 **I am so sorry.**

 **Please don't murder me.**

 **I realize that I promised to update on September 3rd. And now it's pretty much a month later. And that was a hellishly evil thing to do since the last chapter was a lecture instead of an update.**

 **To the people that reviewed with hate, saying they were leaving the story: I don't blame you, I'd have given up by now too. But please don't flame, I can't remove your reviews. And to those that stayed, you're angels and I apologize from the bottom of my soul for leaving you to wait this long. I'll make it up to you, I promise.**

Percy's POV:

At this exact moment in time, I was taking a stroll around the palace with a girl named Celyn. I knew that I had to make an elimination soon, so I was planning to do so now. Planning to do so, since she couldn't stop talking. Babbles about how fantastic the food was, one-sided chats about how she liked butterflies more than moths and checkers more than chess and a billion other random things falling from her mouth like a fountain.

I eventually had to interrupt, saying "Celyn, I have to eliminate you." _Smooth, Percy,_ I thought to myself. _Cutting off somebody who was talking to get them out of the palace. Real charmer here._ But I honestly couldn't be bothered by that voice in my head, there would've been no other way to get past the verbal walls she was surrounding herself with.

It took only seconds for her eyes to get watery and her mouth began to quiver. She looked at me with wide eyes and whispered "What? Really? What did I do wrong?" Her lip was quivering so insistently that I missed half of her words, but I got the overall meaning. I only gave her a shake of the head, that was all it took for her eyes to become waterfalls. Celyn marched away from me without any words, sniffling loudly. She took a turn at the end of the hallway and I lost sight of her.

Damn, that had gone horribly. But I knew that there was no way I could've eliminated her without interrupting her onslaughts of words. She was a massive chatterbox, and there was nothing I could do to stop her from talking. But the guilt of what had happened only minutes ago expanded in my chest.

Down the hallway, up the stairs, I went. It was the same way that Celyn had just exited, and I prayed that I wouldn't see her again as I slowly dialed around the staircase. She had luckily vanished down the hallway of the second floor. I took only one quick glance down the hallway before continuing up the stairs. I finally reached the third floor and passed the guard who opened the door to my room for me.

Right there, sitting on my office chair, was Jason Grace. He offered me a weak smile as I threw myself onto my bed. The duvet cover enveloped me, and I could've stayed there forever if Jason didn't tap me on my back. "Percy? Are you alright?"

"Noo" I grumbled. "I hate eliminations." A chuckle from behind me, then I turned around until I was lying on my back and saw Jason with an outstretched hand. I took it and reluctantly got up. I noticed that he was now standing, as opposed to sitting at my desk. In only a second, I stole his original seat, leaving my friend awkwardly standing.

Jason grinned at my chair-stealing antics and pointed at a stack of papers on my desk that hadn't been there before. "Those are the specifications for the event tonight. I was instructed to go over them with you. May I pull up a chair?" Without waiting for a reply, he dragged an armchair to an empty space next to me and sat down.

"So, what are we going over?" I asked Jason, still reliving Celyn's elimination in my mind. Jason responded, explaining what was happening to me. Apparently, there was an event with French Diplomats today. Jason had probably been told the event was just a normal negotiation over territory. But I knew that those diplomats were here to negotiate Estelle's proposed marriage.

Yet another thing to add to the "Why is Percy stressed?" list. That list had to be chapters long by now. I was trying my best to keep Estelle from being married off to the Prince from France.

My thoughts were interrupted once again by Jason holding up the stack of papers to the golden light streaming from the windows. He cleared his throat roughly and began to read off a list of foreign-sounding names. I dozed off until he loudly exclaimed "Percy? Did you hear any of that?"

I shook my head sheepishly, and he sighed annoyedly. "We have to make a seating chart for the diplomats, Percy. There's only about ten of them, but they have many rivalries that we will need to manage. Also, your father informed me of the erm... situation involving Estelle's marriage." Wow, that was surprising. I'd automatically assumed that my father would leave Jason out of the intricate details of current palace diplomacy, but he apparently hadn't.

The Prince's name was Pollux Beaux. He had far too many advisors with names that we'd need to pronounce in thick accents. "Let's put Lucas Cochet next to Isaac Rochefort," I suggested. "I read an article that they're friends, so they'll probably be fine with that." It was true, there were too many stories about the fantastic relationship between those two diplomats.

"Be sure to keep Estienne Bissonnette on the opposite side of the room from Isaac," remarked Jason. "Their political parties are basically polar opposites, they wouldn't agree on anything and it would end up poorly. How about we place Dominic Hachette and Marie-Louise Roatta next to Estienne? They have similar religious beliefs."

I scanned the list of names as Jason wrote the names we'd discussed on a piece of paper in the correct positions. "Hey, Jason, who's this at the end of the list?" I asked. I'd heard of most of these diplomats before in the news and from my research this morning, but the name last on the list of names wasn't known to me. "Marron Mensonge, I've never heard of him."

Jason shrugged. "I don't know him either. Let's just put him next to Lucas and pray that they'll get along." He scribbled "M. Mensonge" on the empty space next to Lucas Cochet's name. "How about Judith Durand? She's kind of a loner according to my research, doesn't have many friends. Maybe next to Nadine Celice?"

I nodded, staring at the list of names. "Jason, is the Prince going to come with them?" I already knew the answer, but Jason confirmed it for me.

"Yes, he will be coming to the Palace. He's supposed to meet Estelle in a contained environment. I'm sure that he's been informed of the marriage possibility, but Estelle has not. We're hoping that he'll make a good impact on her, maybe it will make the marriage easier to manage," answered Jason. I was angry. Not at Jason, just at his answer. I wanted Prince Pollux Beaux to stay miles away from my sister.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Annabeth's POV:

Us Selected were all in a frenzy. The tables had been turned on us twice today. First, Celyn had been eliminated this morning. This was _extremely_ significant. Celyn was a Four from Bankston, which made her a fairly important figure. Bankston was a very large and influential province, and throwing their candidate out was an important decision to remember.

Celyn was the first person above the caste of Five to be eliminated so far. She was from a wealthy province. So there were only a few reasons Percy would take her out of the running- he didn't appreciate her personality, or she did something to harm another Selected. And nobody had come forward with concerns about Celyn before, so the reason had to be the former.

Since everyone so far that had been eliminated was below the caste of Five, so we didn't know if they were eliminated for their personality or their caste. So technically, Celyn was the first person to be eliminated because of character. And that drove everyone to act differently than her since nobody else wanted to be kicked out for making the same mistakes she would.

The second reason everyone was panicking? A group of French diplomats was arriving today. They'd be here in only an hour. We'd been informed of this detail on breakfast this morning. There would be an evening party tonight, where we'd interact with them. The international tension between Illéa and France was very apparent to me now. Back at home, I'd thought that my country just hadn't spoken to France for a while. Now I knew that only a few strings were holding the countries from falling into conflict.

Naturally, every single Selected would have to make a good impression on each and every one of the diplomats, and they were probably needing to do the same thing to us.

Most of the other ladies were being very selective about their outfits tonight. Everyone was trying out iconic French styles, from V-necks to polka-dots and floral patterns. And another thing: Nobody was wearing blue. I knew this because Celyn had worn blue the morning she'd been eliminated, and nobody wanted to look like she had.

I was breaking this barrier. It seemed petty and ridiculous to throw away a gorgeous color for such ridiculous reasons. Also, I wanted to stand out. Since nobody else was wearing blue, it seemed too good of an opportunity to waste. And because every other girl was going with a French style, I decided to use an Illéan one to make myself pop out from the crowd.

My maids had been incredibly supportive of my idea to stick away from everyone else. They'd been working on my dress all day, and I couldn't wait to see it. Speaking of my dress... "Miss Annabeth?" called out the soft voice of Mellie. "Your dress is ready! Let's get you ready to go, the diplomats will be here soon!" My maids had just arrived, carrying a large bulk of fabric covered in a fitted sheet to conceal it. My dress.

Mellie, Ella, and Julia were all a coordinated team in these moments. It was 12:00, and I had thirty minutes until lunch. Then after lunch, the diplomats would be here. It took them about five minutes to get me into my outfit, a gorgeous blue asymmetric hem dress. It was cinched above the waist but flowed naturally instead of belling out. It took quite a while to get dressed because we didn't want to wrinkle the sheen fabric.

After we finished getting me into my dress, we worked on everything else. I was going to wear heels today, little white ones that just gave me a tiny height boost and looked modest. My hair was put in a tight bun in the back, but we left a few curly strands hanging out. That was kind of my signature style now.

Then makeup. I hadn't been wearing very much recently, but tonight was a special occasion. Still, I didn't want to look like a cake. I instructed my maids to go light. Julia did my makeup with an expert hand. She put on simple concealer for any blemishes I may have had, a nude lip, faint eyeshadow, and light mascara. I looked regal, yet simple and modest at the same time. It was perfect.

It was 12:20. I had ten minutes to arrive at the Dining Hall and meet the French Diplomats for dinner and an evening party. I ran their names through my head once more and whispered the strange pronunciations to myself as Mellie helped me slip into the short heels we'd chosen. I took a quick glance at myself at the mirror hanging from the bathroom door. I looked Illéan enough, which was exactly the look I was going for.

Julia held open the door for me as I walked out. The event planners had instructed us Selected to not bring our maids down to the Dining Hall with us as usual, because there would be quite a crowd already. The Diplomats, several families of Twos, and waiters and waitresses and butlers and servants to serve us. I'd even heard rumors that this entire interaction would be filmed, which didn't sound very far fetched. The actual negotiations were not going to occur in the Dining Hall, they'd take place later in the week.

I made my way down the stairs and passed through several hallways. I reached the Dining Hall, but the doors were unsurprisingly guarded and closed. Hermes Castellan was pacing next to the doors, muttering under his breath and holding up sequences of fingers, apparently counting on his fingers.

When he spotted me awkwardly waiting in front of the doors, he instantly instructed me on where to go. "Miss Chase, we're not using the normal Dining Hall. Oh, they probably forgot to show you the Formal Dining Hall on your tour," he muttered to himself. I stared at him as his brows furrowed to an incredible degree, and then he cleared his throat and continued speaking. "Miss, there are two Dining Halls. One of them is much larger, and is only used for formal occasions."

"The regular Dining Hall is going to be used for storage and additional kitchen space for the servants since we are cooking up quite a feast tonight. But you're not a servant, so you shouldn't be there. Please go to the Great Room instead, but take the passage through the kitchens to make sure nobody sees you before the event begins. Well, go on now!" He waved his hand flippantly at me, so I turned on my heel.

I'd never been in the kitchens before then. The moment that I opened the door, noises and smells wafted toward me and invaded my senses. The sizzling of meats and vegetables, the sound of knives hitting wooden cutting boards to chop up fruits and bread, the smells of stew and buttered croissants overlapping each other in beautiful harmony. Needless to say, I was now quite hungry.

There was a swinging door connecting the Great Room and the Kitchens, which I went through. Of course, I was the first person to arrive. Everyone else was probably using up every last second to get ready. That left me as the only person in the room- besides one other.

Percy had apparently arrived early. When I had entered the Great Room, his eyes had gone directly to me, spying my outfit choice discreetly. My own eyes widened when I realized the problem- he was wearing a blue tie in exactly the same color. I had chosen the pale, navy blue color to reflect the blue in the Illéan flag. It wouldn't have been a problem if Percy had worn any old blue tie, but his tie was _exactly_ the same color.

And this was the second time this incident had happened, in a row. On the Report, we'd worn the same shade of purple. Now here we were with matching blues, and we'd both arrived here early.

"Hello Annabeth," Percy offered in a strangely casual tone. "Umm: it looks like we're wearing the same color." The tips of his eyes crinkled, as the corners of his mouth lifted just a twinge higher. I mirrored his microscopic smile, as to not look unhappy. I also uncrossed my arms, which had been resting on my chest.

"Seems so," I responded. "I figured none of the other girls would be wearing it. Seems like I was still right." Percy laughed at my subtle joke, and I felt my own formality drifting away. "Should I take a seat? We have about five minutes until the dinner begins." He nodded, and I wandered to a bench that was placed next to the wall. He took a seat beside me, a comfortable distance away.

I was just about ready to ask Percy some questions about the upcoming events, but he spoke first. "So, I wanted to tell you something." I waited for him to elaborate, and he turned to face me more directly before continuing. "You know of Prince Pollux Beaux, correct?" he inquired.

To answer his question, I gave a quick nod. The other Selected would be here soon, so he'd have to hurry if he didn't want anyone else to overhear. "Well, his diplomats aren't the only people coming. He's here as well. And there's another thing: one of the diplomats. His name is Marron Mensonge. We have no idea who he is. All of the diplomats that are coming here are extremely famous and well known, but there's nothing on him."

I was already piecing things together. "Well, that's certainly..." I was about to say puzzling when the doors to the Great Room opened again. A pair of girls- Katie Gardner and Holly Victor- entered the room and noted Percy and me within seconds. Percy instantaneously stood up from the bench and strode across the room to greet them. All I could notice about them was their outfits.

Katie wasn't at all subdued. Her gown was enormous, and I wondered how on earth had her maids finished it in the span of only a few hours. It was a massive ballgown that must've been wider than she was tall. The gown was an emerald color, with golden stitching in extremely intricate patterns. She was wearing golden jewelry, which looked more expensive than I'd seen anyone wear so far.

Then I saw Holly. She was wearing a modern maxi-and-midi dress, which was very a very popular style in France right now. The black dress was the same color as her black locks of hair- curled tonight, even though they were usually straightened. Her jewelry was even more extreme than Katie's, were those _diamonds_? Sure enough, the jewels hanging from her neck and ears were glittering diamonds.

I wasn't jealous in the slightest. They looked ridiculous, outdated, and overpriced. My satisfaction in my own clothing choices only increased when Percy tried to give Katie a swift hug, and she nearly tripped over her massive ballgown to reach him.

Over time, more Selected trickled in. Nobody else was wearing blue, and nobody else had a dress in an Illéan style. Hazel hadn't gone very extreme, but she still had a yellow beret.

Now it was 12:30. And then 12:31. Percy had left the room a few minutes ago, leaving me with the twenty-two other Selected. It was strange, how there used to be thirty-five. Thirteen people had been sent home, more than a third of everyone from the beginning. And this morning, there had been twenty-four.

Finally, at 12:35, we were allowed into the Formal Dining Hall. I'd never seen the massive room before. While the normal Dining Hall was nearly square and had three tables in a U-shape, the formal dining room was long and had one table running through the center. Tall standing tables lined the walls. Every table was set with a gorgeous tablecloth, the colors of them being red fading into white.

Massive windows were set into one of the tall walls. Out of those windows, I could look out into the outdoor amphitheater, which rested about thirty feet away from the palace. White satin curtains hung from the corners of the windows, held back with red ribbons to let the golden, evening sun stream in. Hanging from the ceiling was a glittering chandelier, which looked startlingly similar to Holly Victor's over-the-top jewelry.

Nobody was sitting down yet, which gave me an opportunity to discreetly search for where I'd be sitting. There were place cards on the table, thank the heavens. It seemed as if I'd be sitting only one seat away from the foot of the table, which put me directly next to the diplomat Percy had mentioned earlier- Marron Mensonge. The one nobody knew about. To my left was Kelli Colmillo, the Two from Sota.

Now that I knew where I was sitting, I gave myself the opportunity to socialize with the people roaming around. I was going to speak with one of the Diplomats, to make as many good impressions as I could. I decided to speak with Estienne Bissonnette. But as I crossed the room to introduce myself to her, I quickly got sidetracked. Another Selected had tapped my arm as I passed by her. I slowed my pace and turned around.

Piper Mclean, the Two from Bonita. She hadn't spoken to me yet, so I'd assumed she was hostile or had something against me. But all of those speculations were thrown to the side when she stretched her mouth into a smile, her eyes just a bit more pinched together. "Hey, Annabeth! I haven't gotten the chance to speak with you yet. What do you think of the party?"

I blinked, before attempting to mirror her strange enthusiasm. "Oh, hello Piper! I think it's turning out quite well, but it hasn't exactly started yet." As I spoke, she stuck out a hand. I took it and gave her a light handshake that seemed ridiculously formal. She giggled, no doubt getting the exact same impression.

Maybe I could get to know this one, despite the gaps between our castes. She didn't act like the other Two's. It was strange though, chatting with her as though we were old friends. This was _Piper Mclean_. The famous singer that everyone in Illéa knew. I was speaking to a national celebrity, yet I felt exactly equal to her.

"Well, it's certainly about to," remarked Piper. "Look!" She pointed to the head of the table, where the Queen had been standing the entire time. But now Sally Jackson was holding a silver spoon next to her glass. She lightly tapped the silver against her wine glass twice. The first time, it caught everyone's attention. The second time, everyone went silent.

"Everyone may take their seats now," the Queen gently urged. Her voice was smooth and beautiful. "Thank you." Everybody shuffled to their seats in an awkward fashion. I noticed that Kelli and Piper had swapped seats, which I was extremely happy about since I'd seen the way Kelli ate meat.

Marron Mensonge had taken his seat next to me, but he wasn't speaking to anyone. The diplomat had thin-lensed glasses and a thick mustache and beard. Who was he? I had to speak to him, and this was my chance.

I turned to face him after setting my red napkin on my lap as Aphrodite had instructed us to do in her manner-classes. "Sir Mensonge, hello! How are you today? How were your travels?" I questioned. I hadn't spoken to any of the diplomats so far, so I was curious how their journey from France had gone.

He grudgingly turned to face me. "Ah, hello. They went quite well, thank you for asking. My apologies, but there are quite a few of you... you're-" it seemed as if he had forgotten my name, something I wouldn't expect from a diplomat. But just as I was about to cut him off, he furrowed his brows and said "Annabeth Chase, correct? You're that Lady from Angeles, the one that was Selected late."

I nodded appreciatively, surprised that he remembered me. "Yes, that's me. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" I had quite a few things to ask him. Marron Mensonge nodded, and I leaned forward just a tinge and lowered my voice so that nobody else could hear what I was saying.

"I know who you are," I muttered. "And I want to know why you're here."

 **Oh no! Who is he? Why is he here? Is "he" even a he? You'll have to wait until next chapter to find out :p. I'm sorry, I can't stop with the cliffhangers. Anyways, Celyn is gone! Annabeth claimed the color blue! Estelle's possible-future-husband is in the palace! Piper is being friendly! So many things! Damn, I need to stop with the exclamation points!**

 **Questions: Who do you think "Marron Mensonge" is? Who will be sent home next? And what is one thing you want to happen in this story that I haven't written yet? Review away, let me know your opinions. If you have any questions, I'll answer them in the next chapter. I promise to be more regular with updates from now on. Bye!**

 **-Meistar**


	19. Chapter 19

I'm so sorry guys. My life has been insane. My school has been insane. My friendships have been insane, discovering my sexuality has been insane. It's been months since I've updated this fanfic, and I've just given up on it. I've discovered new fandoms, new ships, new fanfiction sites. I can't pretend that I'm coming back to this story more, because I'm not.

If anybody would like to adopt this story and continue it, DM me. If you would like to read more of my work, DM me and I'll give you my Wattpad username, where I've been actually writing.

Once again, my deepest apologies for ending this.

This fanfic was really important to me. It was something that I put hours of work into, something I was extremely excited to work on. You read my stories, you don't even know how much work I've put into it. Besides the hours I spend writing, I've also designed outfits, made floorplans for the places Annabeth has visited in this story, drawn family trees and written extensive summaries of what was going to happen later. I was really excited about this fic, and I wanted to finish it. But... I'm not going to do so.

To all of the sweethearts that have devoted time to reading, following, favoriting, and commenting: Thank you so damn much. You're what kept me going. Love ya bunches.

I don't want to prolong this. If you want to adopt and continue this story, let me know. Thank you for reading The Selection.

-Meistar


End file.
